It took a little longer than expected, but it appears Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy came to a realization on Monday night in Washington. This David Montgomery kid might be pretty good at the whole football thing. Through the first two weeks, it felt like Nagy was hesitant to commit the rookie to a featured role in the offense. Either because he was trying to get Mitch Trubisky established in the passing game or because he has a thing about trusting rookies in his system.
Either way, it wasn’t until the second half against the Redskins that the Bears turned to Montgomery. Watching a 28-3 halftime lead suddenly narrow to 28-15, they badly needed a drive with seven minutes left. If for no other reason than to give the defense some rest. So Nagy turned to the rookie. Not once but four-straight times to open the series and in this sequence, people saw exactly why the Bears traded up in the 3rd round to get him.
His vision. His patience. The sneaky acceleration and utter refusal to be tackled. All of it was on display. During this, he even earned a comparison from the analyst crew thanks to his biggest run of the night. They saw visions of none other than former Steelers and current Jets running back Le’Veon Bell. Certainly not a bad name to be attached to when it comes to running the football.
David Montgomery can be special. He just needs the ball
Montgomery touched the ball a total of 17 times in the game for 81 yards. Most importantly 10 of those times coming in the second half. He was the key force in setting up the 38-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro that pretty much put the game out of reach. All while chewing a precious five minutes off the clock for Washington. If the Bears continue to expand his role in the weeks to come, there’s no telling how much damage he’ll be able to do.
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The Bears will certainly need him next week against the Minnesota Vikings. Their defense appears back to its old way. A steady dose of the ground game will be required to slow down that always-dangerous pass rush of theirs. Montgomery’s stubborn refusal to go down should be a nice test to see if their tackling technique is up to snuff. With both teams at 2-1, this is an early pivotal game in the race for the NFC North crown.
