PREVIEW – Playoffs (DIVISIONAL): Bears Run Game Must Get Going in Order for Success Against LA Rams
Ben Johnson‘s offense is predicated entirely on the run game he has built in both Detroit and Chicago.
Bears Rush Attack Key
He himself will admit that his offense doesn’t become as dynamic without it. The Bears’ run game was in desperate need of a boost after D’Andre Swift came up short of 1k yards, and the other options, Travis Homer and Roschon Johnson, provided as much help as a guy sitting 15th on an NBA bench.
Kyle Monangai, a 7th-round pick from Rutgers, was seen as a potential complementary back, and for the first 5 weeks, it was looking rough.
The Bears were averaging just over 3 yards per carry on the ground. That just wasn’t gonna cut it, so an early bye week in Week 5 allowed Ben Johnson and Eric Bienemy to overhaul the way they were doing things with the outside zone runs and the push up front from the O-line to create more holes to run through.
The Bears finished with the 3rd-best rushing attack behind the Bills and Ravens. Averaging just under 5 yards per carry the rest of the regular season. That is also a testament to Swift and Monangai complementing each other quite well.
Swift, Monangai 1-2 Punch
The Detroit Lions obviously had David Montgomery and then added Jahmyr Gibbs. The Lions then had a very dynamic 1-2 combo that helped them rank 5th and 6th in rushing in both 2023 and 2024.
The play-action game doesn’t necessarily need a very strong run game, but it certainly helps. Caleb Williams has taken the benefits of Ben Johnson’s scheme and has shown that those people who were skeptical about the fit were an afterthought.
Kyle Monangai became a big piece when his opportunity arose. Before the Bengals game, D’Andre Swift was ruled out with a groin strain. People would have missed it if the rookie had struggled, but he shone instead.
He helped power the Bears to a 47-42 win, and they needed every bit of his contribution to springboard the Bears to their 11-6 NFC North division title-winning season.
If the Bears could add that firepower just over one year, I can’t wait to see what the future holds… but the present needs some juice.
Playoff Football Is Smashmouth
Many evaluators and people have varying opinions about what actually wins you playoff games: QB play, time of possession (TOP), defense, and luck. Truth is obviously somewhere in between all that. You need all of that, and the Bears need their run game to power their way through.
TOP and controlling the line of scrimmage will always lead to good results if you have the advantage in those categories. The Bears struggled mightily in running the ball.
The Rams’ defense is best when their D-line can control the game, which is why the o-line is in for one battle. To slow a defensive line like the Rams, you can either play up tempo or run the ball successfully down their throat to the end of time.
In the end, the Bears have a strong foundation to build on.
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