Super Bowl insights: running backs are thriving and the Chicago Bears must take notice

As this is being written, we’re about 15 hours removed from Philadelphia’s 55-23 destruction of the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, a beatdown in which the Eagles ran for seven touchdowns.

Two hours after the game ended, Saquon Barkley trotted in three more. And just this morning, Jalen Hurts pounded in a pair of his own.

Saquon Barkley now has rushed for 414 yards and seven touchdowns this season vs. the Commanders. pic.twitter.com/KirdwinKCl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 26, 2025

What with that whole Patrick Mahomes thing, Philly’s Super Bowl opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, aren’t particularly reliant on their backfield—in their win over Buffalo, the team as a whole managed 135 yards on the ground (3.9 average yards per rush), albeit they still punched in three rushing scores. On the other side of the field, Bills running back James Cook twice found paydirt.

Conversely, Philly and K.C. combined for exactly two passing touchdowns, and that’s not a typo: In their respective Championship clashes, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts—two of the most prolific quarterbacks of their era—managed two total scores via the air.

Chicago Bears, take note.

Running on Empty

You can’t call D’Andre Swift’s 2024 season a bust. But it's doubtful his mom will hang his stat sheet on the fridge.

The Bears lead back’s 959 rushing yards was good (or bad) for 18th in the league, while his even more damning 43.9% success rate landed him at 59th. As a team, Chicago’s 1,734 rushing yards ranked 25th.

That won’t get the job done in the midst of what’s looking like an NFL running back renaissance.

RB Reboot

Swift isn’t going anywhere—he still has two years remaining on his inexplicable $24 million contract, and Bears GM Ryan Poles isn’t one admit mistakes on a timely basis (see: Eberflus, Matt and Jones, Velus)—so this offseason, in terms of improving the running situation, it should be all about addition by addition.

The most affordable, most logical move would be to draft Boise State video game character Ashton Jeanty, a can’t-miss prospect who ESPN’s Louis Riddick compares very favorably to one of the all-time greats:

I asked @LRiddickESPN the best player he saw this college season. He had two: Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty.

On Cam: "This dude is a stone cold killer. When you talk about alphas, in your face alphas..."

On Jeanty: "Ashton is Emmitt Smith with 4.3, 4.4 speed." pic.twitter.com/Gy70EHe4dj
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 16, 2025

If Jeanty is available when the Bears pick at 10, Poles will have a decision to make: Trenches or fireworks.

Free Agent Options Galore

There are some quality RB1s available in the 2025 free agent pool (Najee Harris, Aaron Jones Jr. Javonte Williams), as well as a small handful of RB2s who could thrive if given regular work, Ty Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell being the most appealing.

Ty Johnson just ran 67.9 yards for this INSANE fourth-down TD, per @NextGenStats 🤯🤯🤯

📺: #DENvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Z3GBiJ1p9z
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) January 12, 2025

And if Poles is feeling ballsy, he can take a flyer on the oft-injured Nick Chubb, who will enter the 2025 season at a reasonable 29 years of age. And lest we forget, Chubb is just two years removed from a 1,525-yard campaign.

If Chubb is even 80% of his former self, it could a steal.

Happy birthday to a Cleveland Browns legend.

Some Nick Chubb Birthday Highlights:
pic.twitter.com/OlefJi9ijL
— angrybrownsfans (@angrybrownsfans) December 27, 2023

Whether via the draft or free agency, something has to be done to improve the Bears' rushing situation, because yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles demonstrated that in today’s NFL, a legit offensive backfield is how a team gets things done.