The running game can be a quarterback’s best friend, especially a rookie like No. 1 overall pick and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. Unfortunately for the D’Andre Swift and the Bears, their running game just has not clicked.
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It is especially alarming for a team that, not only led the NFL in rushing in 2022 and ranked second in 2023, but also returns much of the personnel that is key to their ground attack having success. The changes they did make were significant, though, so they cannot be ignored.
Neither Swift, the starter and newcomer to the group, nor incumbent Bears Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson are suggesting major changes.
Swift, who is off to his slowest start since his rookie season, held his availability before practice. He said he looks at himself first with the run game stalling but noted that the answer is getting back to work and honing in on the defense.
The Bears rank 28th in total rushing yards and 29th in yards per attempt.
In 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles, Swift averaged 2.8 yards before contact per carry, per Pro Football Reference. That was the second-lowest mark of his career entering the 2024 season.
Swift is averaging a career-low 1.1 yards before contact per attempt in 2024. The Eagles averaged the sixth-most yards before contact as a team in 2023. The Bears ranked third en route to their second-place rushing finish. Both teams have fallen in the early going in 2024.
The Eagles have the 10th-most YBC/ATT while the Bears have the 12th-most.
The Bears ranked second in rushing attempts in 2023. They rank 25th through two weeks in 2024. The biggest change is switching from Justin Fields. Fields was quicker to run than Williams, who has already s.
Their Week 3 opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, have allowed the fifth-most rushing yards per attempt and just lost star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to an ankle sprain suffered in Week 2 versus the Green Bay Packers, who rushed for 140 yards in a 16-10 victory.
Khalil Herbert Preaches Fundamentals
Chicago’s offensive line would be an easy target for the woes. They have certainly had their issues in pass protection. But the answer could be much simpler than that.
“Just basic stuff I feel like we aren’t doing,” Herbert told Clocker Sports before practice on Thursday. “That’s what I feel like really that’s it. Once we just tap in with the fundamentals, the basic stuff that we’ve been doing since Day 1, the sky’s the limit.”
Herbert has gone from starter to RB2.
That shift has been noticeable for the Bears on the field. Herbert is more of a north-south runner than Swift, who is far more elusive in the open field.
Roschon Johnson: Bears Need ‘Sense of Urgency’
Then there is Roschon Johnson who is the heftiest back in the room outside of versatile fullback Khari Blasingame. Johnson dealt with injuries in the preseason but told Clocker Sports on Thursday that he is indeed fully healthy.
Johnson also believes the fix is as simple as cleaning up their act.
“It’s really just kind of getting on the same page, having a sense of urgency, and playing with a sense of urgency to get us started. And just really kind of staying consistent all around,” Johnson told Clocker Sports. “In every position, I feel like we could help out the wrong games. So, yeah, I feel like it’s just staying the course and not getting too amped up.”