Bear Digest

Potential error by Chicago Bears with inactive choices against Vikings

A week after one Bears player played a vital role helping the defense stop the run, he's been relegated to watching with the inactives.
Gene Chamberlain|
Chris Williams has been put on the inactive list after playing a big role last week playing out of position.
Chris Williams has been put on the inactive list after playing a big role last week playing out of position. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Either the Bears have an awful lot of confidence in defensive tackles Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings and Grady Jarrett, and in defensive ends Austin Booker and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, or they've made a potential blunder for Sunday's game with the Minnesota Vikings.

They left defensive tackle Chris Williams with the inactive players.

A week ago, 300-pounder Williams was their solution as an extra edge player to help stop the run against the New York Giants. They slid him outside 14 times, according to Pro Football Focus' count. He also lined up over tackle twice. He had PFF's second-best run-stopping grade for the game among defensive linemen.

The Bears did stop the run initially but then the zone-read running of quarterback Jaxson Dart destroyed this strategy and nearly cost the Bears the game. Dart suffered a concussion and lost a key fumble trying to act like a running back.

So here are the Bears facing the Minnesota Vikings again and in the season opener the Vikings turned around the game with power running, particularly off tackle with Jordan Mason.

They also have a quarterback capable of running zone reads with J.J. McCarthy. And  the Bears answer by making last week's run-stopping answer at edge inactive.

It's going to leave Dennis Allen and Ben Johnson open to plenty of second guessing if the Vikings start running like in the second half of the opener, when they pounded out 85 of their 120 yards.

McCarthy ran for 48 yards and averaged 9.6 yards an attempt last week  against Baltimore

Bears run stuffers need to be fully aware of what can happen if they're too focused on their pass rush facing Minnesota.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.