The Chicago running game, it’s not happening. They had it going some earlier in the season, but it’s pretty much a disaster now.
If we go back to Weeks 4-8, when Shane Waldron was the offensive coordinator, the Bears were putting up surprisingly decent rushing numbers, running for at least 128 yards in every week, with 8 rushing touchdowns in those four games. D’Andre Swift went for 129 yards at Washington, with a cool 56-yard touchdown, and he went over 90 yards in two other games. Roschon Johnson was punching in short touchdowns.
But that’s gone now. There doesn’t seem to be any real commitment to running the ball, and they don’t have great talent, with ordinary backs (both the Lions and Eagles gave up on Swift) working behind a lesser offensive line.
Since the loss at Washington, the Bears have averaged only 91 rushing yards, and that’s despite having one of the more productive scrambling quarterbacks. Caleb Williams is averaging 30 yards per game as a runner.
If we parse out the quarterbacks and wide receivers, Chicago’s running backs have averaged only 56 rushing yards in their last nine games. That’s the fewest in the league – less even than the Raiders, Jaguars and Giants.
Note also that Chicago’s running backs in their last nine games have averaged only 3.3 yards per attempt – also the worst in the league.
I don’t know what the plan is for the Bears in 2025, but I assume it will include some attempt to improve the team’s running game.
| RUSHING BY RUNNING BACKS SINCE WEEK 9 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Yd/G |
| Philadelphia | 8 | 229 | 1,267 | 5.5 | 9 | 158.4 |
| Tampa Bay | 7 | 180 | 930 | 5.2 | 8 | 132.9 |
| Baltimore | 8 | 201 | 1,012 | 5.0 | 6 | 126.5 |
| Atlanta | 7 | 218 | 875 | 4.0 | 8 | 125.0 |
| Detroit | 8 | 225 | 980 | 4.4 | 11 | 122.5 |
| Arizona | 7 | 161 | 857 | 5.3 | 6 | 122.4 |
| Green Bay | 7 | 185 | 805 | 4.4 | 13 | 115.0 |
| LA Rams | 8 | 197 | 838 | 4.3 | 5 | 104.8 |
| Indianapolis | 7 | 165 | 723 | 4.4 | 3 | 103.3 |
| Buffalo | 7 | 144 | 707 | 4.9 | 8 | 101.0 |
| Pittsburgh | 8 | 203 | 796 | 3.9 | 4 | 99.5 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 191 | 774 | 4.1 | 4 | 96.8 |
| Dallas | 8 | 164 | 762 | 4.6 | 2 | 95.3 |
| Carolina | 7 | 152 | 652 | 4.3 | 7 | 93.1 |
| Washington | 7 | 161 | 633 | 3.9 | 7 | 90.4 |
| New England | 7 | 151 | 612 | 4.1 | 3 | 87.4 |
| Seattle | 8 | 164 | 680 | 4.1 | 5 | 85.0 |
| New Orleans | 7 | 154 | 592 | 3.8 | 1 | 84.6 |
| Cincinnati | 7 | 138 | 580 | 4.2 | 3 | 82.9 |
| Tennessee | 8 | 162 | 646 | 4.0 | 5 | 80.8 |
| Cleveland | 7 | 133 | 553 | 4.2 | 4 | 79.0 |
| Denver | 7 | 138 | 537 | 3.9 | 4 | 76.7 |
| NY Jets | 7 | 128 | 532 | 4.2 | 3 | 76.0 |
| Miami | 8 | 167 | 603 | 3.6 | 4 | 75.4 |
| San Francisco | 7 | 124 | 518 | 4.2 | 4 | 74.0 |
| Houston | 8 | 153 | 589 | 3.8 | 6 | 73.6 |
| Kansas City | 9 | 181 | 659 | 3.6 | 3 | 73.2 |
| LA Chargers | 8 | 142 | 583 | 4.1 | 9 | 72.9 |
| NY Giants | 7 | 126 | 487 | 3.9 | 5 | 69.6 |
| Jacksonville | 7 | 129 | 451 | 3.5 | 2 | 64.4 |
| Las Vegas | 7 | 117 | 432 | 3.7 | 3 | 61.7 |
| Chicago | 9 | 151 | 502 | 3.3 | 3 | 55.8 |
—Ian Allan