Most people are looking at Mitch Trubisky as the only hope for the Chicago Bears to somehow pull off a win on Sunday in Philadelphia. Then again it’s fair to ask. What about David Montgomery. The rookie is coming off the best game of his career last Sunday against the Chargers. One where he averaged 5.0 yards per carry for 135 yards and a touchdown. By the sound of things, head coach Matt Nagy has started to figure out how to use him better, particularly in regards to more I-formation plays.
Is it really such a stretch to think he can’t have another good game against the Eagles? Some think so. Philadelphia has traditionally been really good at stopping the run over the past few seasons. Especially since Jim Schwartz took over as defensive coordinator. They currently rank 8th in the league at stopping the run. However, that is misleading. In two of the past three games, they’ve allowed at least 120 yards on the ground against Minnesota and Dallas. Buffalo also averaged 4.41 yards per carry but only fed their backs 12 times.
So the Eagles aren’t as suffocating as they’ve been before. This would explain why DeAngelo Hall of NFL Network believes Montgomery is in line for a big day.
“Matt Nagy honored his word last week by committing to the run game in the Bears’ Week 8 bout with the Los Angeles Chargers. It didn’t lead to the result the team wanted, as Chicago lost again, but rookie running back David Montgomery ran the rock on 27 of the Bears’ 38 run plays for a career-high 135 yards. It was certainly a bright spot for the team, and Montgomery is just getting started. He’ll rush for his second straight 100-yard game on Sunday, this time against a stingy Eagles run defense.”
Will Nagy feed David Montgomery again?
The good news is Nagy stuck by his word to feed Montgomery last week. Though the Bears only scored 16 points, they should’ve scored more than 30 given how many times they reached the red zone. So it’s fair to say that the offense is on the right track. Feeding their young back led to a lot of good things. What people can’t be sure about is whether Nagy will be able to repeat that same plan. He does have a bad tendency to get pass-happy.
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Philadelphia has the 21st ranked pass defense and has been vulnerable down the field a lot this season. He may not be able to resist the urge to put the ball in the air despite a struggling quarterback and a hostile stadium. It will come down to Nagy’s ego. How desperate is he to prove he can fix Mitch Trubisky versus doing what’s necessary to get his offense moving in a positive direction. Running the ball is how this must go. It isn’t what the coaches had hoped for when the year began, but it’s what they have to do.
