Monday morning began with a familiar refrain from Bears head coach Matt Nagy:
“We have to be able to run the football. We cannot be one-dimensional.”
He’s right, but fans are understandably growing tired of that reality as it was a theme throughout 2019 when the Bears rushed for the sixth fewest yards in the NFL.
Nagy addressed the problem in the offseason by revamping the run scheme with new offensive line coach Juan Castillo and there were signs of progress in the first three weeks of the season. Even after Sunday’s dreadful 28 rushing yards against the Colts, the Bears rank 20th with 110.5 rushing yards per game.
So was Sunday’s 1.8 yards/carry an outlier in 2020 or an alarming sign of a recurring problem that hasn’t been solved?
“I hope it’s just one of those games where you just feel like, you know, that defensive line and some of the things that (the Colts) were doing,” Nagy said. “But at the same time, I trust our guys. I really do. I really trust our guys, I trust our scheme.”
The scheme didn’t hold up against the league’s No. 1 defense, in part because the Bears don’t have a high-flying passing attack to respect. Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus – who will likely be a head coach in the future – concentrated on stopping the run while keeping his safeties back in a Cover-2 shell to make sure Nick Foles didn’t beat them deep. The Bears had no answer.
“We can’t get caught off guard and all of a sudden try to be one-dimensional, and that’s my job,” Nagy said. “When teams know that you’re going to run the football, are you able to run the football? Right? So if you can do that, then you’re going to be a pretty good football team.”
The Bears couldn’t run the ball against the Colts and it took away the wrinkles that had worked somewhat well the first three weeks.
“It’s beautiful because it sets up play actions and now guys are open because the linebackers are trying to fly and stop the run,” Nagy said. “It sets up screens because now the d-line is rushing up field. It just makes things a lot easier.”
The play-action was dead Sunday. And the Colts kept sniffing out the few screens the Bears tried. It didn’t help that on the fourth play of the game, all three offensive linemen involved in a screen for Cordarrelle Patterson missed their blocks.
It starts up front. The Bears have to establish the run, even though opponents know they’re going to run. And it doesn’t get any easier, as the Buccaneers’ No. 2 rushing defense comes to Soldier Field Thursday night.
Meanwhile, here’s an alarming reality: The Bears are the only the team in the NFL without a rushing touchdown this season.