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Following the loss of David Montgomery, who is sidelined with a knee sprain for 3-5 weeks, there were questions about whether the Bears run game could still find success in his absence.
But running backs Damien Williams and rookie Khalil Herbert proved the run game is in capable hands until Montgomery’s return, as the pair were a big part of Chicago’s upset win against the Raiders. Williams and Herbert combined for 139 yards on 34 carries and a touchdown.
“It was really impressive,” Nagy said. “You get these opportunities in a game like that, you know that the run game has to be really important and those guys did that and they stepped up and they did it with help.
“I said yesterday the offensive line and tight ends [deserved credit for blocking]. You go back and watch that tape, you better include those wideouts in there, because there were some awesome blocks by the wideouts. The one that jumps out to me is [Darnell] Mooney out there on the touchdown run, sticking his nose in there and getting leverage like he did. But Damiere Byrd had a bunch of stiff blocks. It was neat to see. Those were two that I think of, but all the wideouts were blocking, too, so it was pretty neat.”
While Williams was already an established player, Herbert was an inexperienced rookie who saw significant action for the first time against the Raiders. And he shined in his debut, rushing for 75 yards on 18 carries.
“He did a great job,” Nagy said. “When you have 18 carries, you’re doing something right. Him and Damien were complementary to each other. You saw some really good times where he hit that zone and he stuck that right or left foot in the ground, planted it, and he went north and south and got seven, eight yards every time.
“I like his vision. I like his patience. I also like his toughness, and you see it when he’s returning kickoffs. He’s smooth, and people bounce off him, so he’s got good contact balance. I really like where he’s at.”