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The Chicago Bears have long been synonymous with great running backs and rushing attacks. But that hasn’t been the case since Matt Nagy took over as head coach in 2018, where Chicago’s run game has become an ugly statistic and made the offense one-dimensional.
This season, the Bears have the statistical worst rushing attack in the entire NFL, averaging 78.2 yards per game this season.
But believe it or not, there was a time this year when Chicago had a top-10 run game, where they averaged 138.0 rushing yards per game in the first three weeks of the season.
Since then, they’ve averaged 52.6 yards rushing, where they’ve rushed for more than 63 yards just once, which has a lot to do with them dropped five of their last seven games.
But you don’t need to tell Nagy that the run game needs to be better. And after a much-needed bye week, Nagy had plenty of time to reflect on the struggles of the ground game.
“I just feel like we have a good pulse on knowing that, big picture, the struggle to run the football is where a lot of this stuff starts,” Nagy said. “[There’s] different reasons for that. Is it scheme? Is it execution? Is it a little bit of both? And then knowing, ‘OK, that has to get better.’ I don’t care who we’re playing, the run game has to get better. You just see teams across the league that are able to establish the run. It helps open up other areas of the field.”
One thing that should help, at least a little, is the return of running back David Montgomery, who missed Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings with a concussion.
Nagy believes Montgomery’s likely return against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night will go a long way for this team.
“I just feel like he’s a leader in that huddle and he does it in a quiet manner,” Nagy said. “This guy, now, he’s a fighter, and I know it just killed him to miss that [Vikings] game. But I think being able to have him get back, just that level of confidence and that toughness that he brings to the huddle and every time he touches the football, I know that he’s a complete team player. He’s all about ‘we’ and our team, so every game that goes by he has more and more experience, so I’m excited to get him back.”
But even with Montgomery back in the line-up, Chicago’s run game remains the worst unit in the NFL — which isn’t by fault of Montgomery. There are a number of factors from offensive line to play-calling.
And hearing Nagy say the Bears need to be better with the run game, it’s more of the same. Nagy continues to repeat himself not only on a daily but yearly basis, which makes you wonder if the Bears run game will ever be productive with Nagy’s offense.
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