Bear Digest

Trouble by Bears running sits at heart of offensive inconsistency

Analysis: Until the Bears can accomplish simple things like a QB sneak or gaining a few necessary yards on the ground, they can never fully rely on their offense.
Gene Chamberlain|
D'Andre Swift looks for an opening on a carry early against the Detroit Lions in a 52-21 loss.
D'Andre Swift looks for an opening on a carry early against the Detroit Lions in a 52-21 loss. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It looks like a dream scenario for the Bears offense when they've scored touchdowns on two straight opening possessions, and extending the streak to three would constitute their first time in 30 years doing this three straight games to start a season.

Looks can be deceiving. There's more to offensive success than opening drives. Consistency matters most, and the Bears offense lacks it.

Maybe their most deceiving numbers are in rushing. The 12th ranking in rushing seems solid and exactly what coach Ben Johnson needs to base a play-action passing game on, but their yardage total includes 85 from Caleb Williams—he's tied for fourth in the league among QBs running the ball.

That's not a planned rushing contribution and while his runs help boost drives, they need more production from D'Andre Swift and whichever other running back they give carries to, and from their offensive line in general.

The running game is the basis for a team's offensive consistency because accounts for necessary yards when needed.

"Early on, I felt like it was going to be one of those games the way that it was though, we were going to be real efficient running the ball," Swift said. "The game got out of hand, so that dictated play calling at that point."

Swift's analysis of the running game was spot on. Once down 17 after halftime, the running game almost has no role. Whether they can sustain a running game in a full game remains a great unknown because they didn't do it in the opener. They had only 53 yards rushing from Swift in the opener and 58 from Williams.

Swift's performance has basically been in line with what he has done in the past.

He's been a threat to break a run, as his 20-yarder showed last week. Yet he's bottom five in the league in average time spent behind the line of scrimmage (3.06 seconds) and bottom 10 in running efficiency, based on the NFL NextGen Stats formula.

His Pro Football Focus grades have been abysmal. They grade him 46th out of the 47 most-used running backs and 47th rushing the ball.

One thing he has been excellent at and hasn't necessarily in the past is pass blocking, and PFF has him at his highest career pass-blocking grade on 15 attempts at it.

The real root of the Bears' offensive problems have been less on their overall rushing numbers and more on situations.

When they really need the rushing yards in short yardage, they haven't had them. The key example was the failure on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 against Detroit on quarterback sneaks.

"We call those QB sneaks, we have to execute and when you’re calling that, we're supposed to get the first down and then other opportunities will come after that," Swift said. "It is what it is. You call it, we have to execute it.”

Offensive consistency as a whole has been lacking whether in the running game or passing attack.

"There'll be flashes early in the game where they go down and score," Swift said. "We responded right away. Those are the type of things that if we want to be the type of team that we know we can be, we have to do that each and every drive. We can't shoot ourselves in the foot offensively, going against a team like (Detroit).

"If it's a shootout, we need to be right with that shooting out on offense as well. So, the penalties and things like that, that has to stop. It is everybody, it's a collective effort.”

The one certainty about offense in general is consistency is never deceiving.

When the Bears can rely on the running game or rely on the passing game with any degree of consistency, they'll have a basis for thinking they can move forward to compete with anyone.

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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.