If there?s one thing the Chicago Bears do well, it?s run the ball when they commit to it. And it?s not just this season.
One season after leading the NFL in team rushing yards, they rank third. This is despite their offense being much-maligned for most of the season. They have seen a similar slight drop in going from second in carries to fourth this season.
They have also had to shuffle through multiple backs, including re-signing Darrynton Evans and giving fullback Khari Blasingame eight carries in Week 8 due to injuries. Five running backs (including full backs) have carried the ball at least eight times for the Bears this season. Only the Arizona Cardinals have had more, per Stathead.
Now healthy, and at the perfect time no less, they are ready to shoulder the load.
Bears RBs Back in Focus for Week 14 Rematch With Lions
1) Khalil Herbert & Co. Ready to Shoulder the Load Down the Stretch
Khalil Herbert could only muster 35 yards on 16 carries in the first meeting with the Lions. It was his first game back after a five-week absence with leg injuries. Herbert had six totes for 24 yards in Week 12 versus the Minnesota Vikings and is looking to finish versus the Lions.
He isn?t alone, though.
D?Onta Foreman missed Week 12 with leg injuries of his own and is set to return to the rotation this Sunday. In Herbert?s absence, Foreman rushed for 351 yards on 81 carries, a 70.2-yard-per-game average. Herbert has rushed for at least 70 yards in just two games this season.
Those performances came in his first and third-highest carry totals, though which could be difficult to replicate. Foreman was inactive for those contests.
It is unclear if he will be active on Sunday but he is feeling “better”.
Further complicating matters (in a good way for the Bears) is the return of Roschon Johnson, who missed two weeks with a concussion. Johnson led the backfield with 10 carries and 35 yards versus Minnesota in Week 12.
Johnson?s previous season high was eight carries, which came in Week 3 versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
With five games left in the regular season, Johnson is also on track for a longer campaign than anything that he went through in college. In that regard, the Bears? bye week coming as late as it did was beneficial even if it put a damper on whatever momentum he was building toward seizing control of the backfield as it appeared was happening before the bye.
?It was a great time for me to just decompress a little bit, take my mind off football for a little split second before we finish out the rest of the season,? Johnson told Clocker Sports on December 6. ?Yeah, it for sure came at the right time.?
That said, Johnson knows he has nothing but opportunity ahead of him.
Despite being a fifth-round pick who spent the majority of his collegiate career backing up a first-round pick in Bijan Robinson, Johnson has shown promise and looks to build on it.
?I feel like I can improve in all areas,? Johnson said. ?Definitely feel like the experience I got last game definitely helped out. Just the reps. I mean I think my development in this league, it’s going to be a matter of time and reps. So definitely as time goes on, I get more and more reps, I feel like my game will elevate as well.?
Unlike his fellow backs, Johnson pushed back on the idea that the weather could lead to an increased sense of duty in the running back room. But only because he said they always carry that mentality around with them.
He also noted that, while they should be more prepared but won?t underestimate the Lions.
?Definitely we go up against a team twice, I feel like you should be more prepared,? said Johnson.
?But I mean the last game was the last game. It don’t really matter going into the next one. So you still got to do your due diligence and prepare week by week. Pretty much see the games they play, the tendencies that they have. So yeah when that time comes to play the game, we’ll we’ll be prepared for a new Lions team.?
2) Bears LB Noah Sewell Eager to Face Brother, Lions OT Penei Sewell
Rookie linebacker Noah Sewell missed out on his first opportunity to face off against his brother, Lions tackle Penei Sewell. The Bears youngster said after watching brother Nephi Sewell and the New Orleans Saints duke it out with the Lions, it was ?my turn?.
Noah is mostly a special teamer. But he has impressed in limited reps on defense and tied his high with 10 snaps when the Bears visited the Saints in Week 9.
3) No St. Brown Bros. Rematch
While the Sewell brothers will get to complete the family circuit, Equanimeous St. Brown will not get the opportunity to get some get back on his brother, Lions stud wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, with whom he hosts a podcast, the ?St. Brown Brothers? podcast.
It?s on the podcast that Eqanimeous says he and Amon-Ra exchange verbal blows.
Unfortunately for the Bears, Equanimeous will miss the game and is ?week to week? with a pectoral injury, per head coach Matt Eberflus on December 8.
4) Roquan Smith Defends Justin Fields
Perhaps it was just a bit of sentimentality having gone through the rigors of a season alongside him, but former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith vehemently asserted that Justin Fields is the guy the front office should build around, even comparing him to his new quarterback with the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson.
That is a comparison many made coming into the season in expectation of a leap from Fields.
Fields racked up 272 yards with his arm and legs in the first meeting with the Lions. Their defense has only shown more cracks since then. Building on that performance could do wonders for Fields? long-term prospects even, as he says, if it may not be in Chicago.