Mitchell Trubisky's Legs Must Make Ground Game Go
The lack of a running game hits home for the Bears this week, although it doesn't really matter at this point since they've been eliminated.
When one of the better teams in the league comes to your stadium in December, has the third-ranked passing attack and the hot-shot MVP quarterback, the surest way to take the wind out of their sails is help your defense with a strong running attack.
If they don't break 130 yards rushing combined for the last two games, the Bears will hit the lowest rushing total since before the start of the 16-game schedule and, in fact, all the way back to 49 years ago in 1970.
"I understand how important it is to run the football," coach Matt Nagy said.
At least they're understanding how important it is when you don't run. Nagy always maintains they call more runs than show up at times because they use RPOs (run-pass options) and sometimes those end up as passes.
They're not going to suddenly manufacture the kind of time-consuming ground attack it would take to keep Patrick Mahomes on the bench. The time for such things has long-since passed. It has to be done in the offseason and training camp and they haven't done it.
"The consistency is where we're at," Nagy said of the running game's problems.
No truer words were spoken about this season. They have three games with 100 yards rushing as a team. The commitment in terms of carries is important and that has been no more apparent than the blocking.
Offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich wouldn't point all the blame for these failures at the linemen.
"I don't know if that's 100 percent the case," he said. "I think that you can make the same case for the quarterback or the running back. It just depends on the situation.
"No, I don't think you can put 100 percent of this on the offensive line. It's us, it's we, it's our, and we have had some setbacks certainly that those guys would take full credit for and they'e probably take credit for some that aren't their fault."
It's a passing league, everyone who watches NFL games says. Yet the top eight rushing teams in the league in order are the Ravens, 49ers, Seahawks, Vikings, Bills, Cowboys, Texans and Titans. Every one of those teams either is in the playoffs, or tied for a playoff spot.
"So we'll go back as a staff, as an organization and just kind of figure out that—everything included—but we do know we need to be better there," Nagy said.
Nagy comes from an organization that has had good running attacks, but the Chiefs this year are 25th in rushing. It's easy to ignore the running attack's importance when your quarterback is Mahomes.
The Bears don't have that luxury, so here are three keys to pulling off the upset in spite of their running game deficiencies.
3. No Free Releases
With all the speed the Chiefs have at receiver, the worst thing the Bears can do on defense is play off of them in coverage. They need to challenge the Kansas City receivers physically at the line of scrimmage and be as physical as is legally possible for 5 yards when in zone, and reroute as much as possible to keep Mahomes from zeroing in on his targets while letting the rush find the bull's-eye.
2. Throw to Backs for Actual Yards
Remember how they had to get a running back who catches passes and get rid of Jordan Howard? David Montgomery hasn't had a game with more than two receptions since Nov. 3. He's only hit 20 yards or more receiving twice and has just 24 receptions on the season. That's what Howard averaged for his three seasons in Chicago, so Montgomery hasn't been a lot better. One way to make up for the lack of a running game is the catch-and-run by backs. The Bears rarely get many yards after the catch, and Tarik Cohen has had a miserable season in this regard. Mitchell Trubisky has to make the faster decision and throw quicker to the back so they have room to make moves and get the yardage.
1. Pull It and Run
Trubisky needs to pull it more often and run on RPOs this week. There are a couple reasons for this. One is Kansas City's edge rushers tend to overcommit to the outside, and there's plenty of room to run for a quarterback on an RPO just outside tackle. The other reason is the Bears can't generate a running game in a conventional manner, they sure could with Trubisky running on RPOs or just pulling down the ball and scrambling. They need the rushing yards somehow. The Chiefs have four losses, and gave up 118 yards rushing or more an all four. They allowed 180 or more in three of the defeats, and the Titans pounded them for 225 rushing yards.
The Chiefs have had better results against the run in the last four games, but the offense has aided the defense in those games, as well.
The only way the Bears are getting the kind of rushing yardage it takes to keep Mahomes watching from the sideline is with Trubisky running for first downs.
The line: Chiefs by 6
The pick: Chiefs 29, Bears 24
Elsewhere
| The Line | The Pick |
|---|---|
Texans -3 at Bucs | Texans 38, Bucs 31 |
Bills +6 1/2 at Patriots | Bills 20, Patriots 20 |
Rams +6 1/2 at 49ers | 49ers 31, Rams 20 |
Lions +7 at Broncos | Broncos 24, Lions 13 |
Raiders +7 at Chargers | Chargers 23, Raiders 17 |
Jaguars +7 at Falcons | Falcons 30, Jaguars 13 |
Saints -2 1/2 at Titans | Titans 19, Saints 17 |
Giants +2 at Redskins | Giants 24, Redskins 17 |
Steelers -3 at Jets | Steelers 21, Jets 17 |
Bengals +1 at Dolphins | Dolphins 20, Bengals 17 |
Panthers +7 at Colts | Colts 27, Panthers 19 |
Ravens -10 at Browns | Ravens 31, Browns 10 |
Cowboys -1 1/2 at Eagles | Eagles 24, Cowboys 20 |
Cardinals +9 1/2 at Seahawks | Seahawks 31, Cardinals 20 |
Packers +5 1/2 at Vikings | Vikings 20, Packers 17 |
