Reboot for the Bears Running Game
Justin Fields said his foot was swollen, a little bloodied but no worse for the wear.
He says his left shoulder is as good as it can be.
Maybe it's seeing the Detroit Lions defense up next and what Carolina just did to them, or simply wanting to finish the year out strong, but Fields is ready to take the ball back and start running again.
"Every time we play, the running game opens up everything else," Fields said. "Definitely want to have a rushing attack each and every game, so it's important.
"The guys this week are going to work hard at it and hopefully we get it going this Sunday."
Fields gained 147 yards against Detroit in their Nov. 13 game at Soldier Field, and had his longest run, a 67-yard run for a touchdown. The Bears ran for 258 yards against the Lions but Detroit hasn't been an easy touch lately against the run despite the one poor game with Carolina.
They gave up only 22 yards to the Vikings on the ground, 95 to Jacksonville and 50 to the Jets while winning 5 of 6 times, the lone loss 28-25 to Buffalo on Thanksgiving.
The Bears can probably expect more "mesh rush,"—the defensive ends slanting in and going for both the quarterback and running back on RPO plays.
The Bills did it to the Bears but had a few twists to it such as safety blitzes mixed with the tactic. The Falcons had done it with some success, as well.
Fields didn't think it posed a particular problem until the Bills game.
"We might have seen it a few times after that but not really any challenges," Fields said. "Like I said, in that sort of read-option play, it’s just the D-end has two options - they can either take me or the running back. If he takes me, like I said on Sunday after the game, my job is just to take him with me and have the back work."
Fields is 185 yards now from setting the quarterback rushing record, after gaining a seaosn-low 11 yards against the Bills. It seems far less likely now.
His scrambling can counter some of the mesh rush but the Bills aimed to stop Fields' runs on pass plays by spying on him.
"The Eagles, they spied me with the nickel, with a defensive back, just depending on who they have," Fields said. "Last game the Bills spied me with their Mike (linebacker Tremaine) Edmunds.
"I think it just depends on how their defensive coordinator looks at their players and if you trust them to be able to tackle me one-on-one in the field."
A way the Bears can get Fields the help he needs is obviously for the running backs to pick up yardage, as well. Khalil Herbert's return last week resulted in a disappointing 7 yards on six carries. David Montgomery exploded for 60 first-half yards, then only 2 in the second half.
"We always say it’s all 11," coach Matt Eberflus said. "It comes down to, you look at each particular play and it’s all 11. It could be a lineman, a tackle, a guard, an inside lineman. It could be the perimeter blocking.
"It’s all that. We’d have to go through each play and look at each one—‘OK, this is where we broke down there,’ and, ‘This is what it was here.’ "
They need for it to be fixed to derail the Lions' playoff bid.
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