Key to the Game: Establishing Run Again Opens It Up for Bears

The missing piece tying it all together for the Bears offense the last two games has been the running attack and if it restarts then the playbook opens wide for Nick Foles

If ever the Bears are going to get their running game going again, it needs to be Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

If there's a team they can get it going again against it is Carolina, and whether they are able to do it could be the biggest test of the work being done by offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and coach Matt Nagy to date.

The Panthers are next to last in the NFL in yards allowed per rushing attempt at 5.4 per carry.

How bad is that? The last NFL defense to give up an average as high as 5.4 yards a rush for an entire season was the expansion Minnesota Vikings in 1961, so obviously the Panthers have a problem. They've allowed every team they played to run for at least 117 yards.

It stands to be even worse for the Panthers now because Wednesday they placed defensive lineman Kawann Short on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

"I have a lot of faith in our run game, I really do, and different ways how we are going to get back to it," Nagy said. "I feel good about that. There is no panic at all. I know for me that part is exciting to figure out ways to get it back on track because that is ultimately going to help our offense."

The challenge for Lazor and Nagy is reviving a running game which flourished with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, but has done nothing since the switch to quarterback Nick Foles.

It won't be easy in a week when they have to switch left guards due to injury and their offensive line coach is home watching on TV due to a COVID-19 quarantine.

The Bears' problems running the ball have nothing to do with not having the more mobile Trubisky piling up rushing yards. Rather, it has to do with the threat he could pile up rushing yards or use his legs to get out of the pocket and pass, and how defenses react to this.

Trubisky had one 45-yard run but hadn't done much of anything else scrambling or running it on zone-read plays. However, Bears running backs averaged 4.43 yards per rush when he was playing. Since he's been gone, Bears backs have run for a 2.97-yard average.

Defenses had to protect the edge in case of backside damage by Trubisky as a runner out of the run-pass option, or on bootlegs when the Bears were lining up under center. They couldn't crash edge players down against runs by the backs for fear Trubisky could take off. It allowed for more open space in the blocking scheme and David Montgomery could pick his running lanes better.

Now Foles is no threat to run and the edge players crash down between tackles to wipe out cutbacks. The run is bottled up more.

Bears coaches would have you believe they haven't run well the last two weeks because they faced Indianapolis and Tampa Bay.

"The last two weeks, I've said it over and over, these two teams we've faced on the front line and linebackers, they're really good," Nagy said. "That's not to take anything away from others team that we played. That's just the simple truth. These two fronts that we've played the last two week, that's what they are."

It's true those two defenses have been brutal on running attacks. The Colts are third against the run and the Buccaneers lead the league.

If the Bears can open it up for David Montgomery to run now, they'll at least prove they can generate rushing yards without the aid of the threat Trubisky posed. They'll also show coaches can make the right adjustments, and it could help open up the passing game.

There could be a residual effect if they are running it.

The Panthers are a ball-control team on offense and need to possess the ball to be effective. If the Bears do this instead, they'll force Carolina to play a style of game it hasn't proven successful at to date.

With the way the Bears defense has been against the pass, coaches would much rather have Carolina reduced to throwing the ball all the time and playing from behind.

The whole issue is whether Lazor and Nagy can come up with a way to get Montgomery freed up. It's an issue which could determine the path the rest of their season takes.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven