Running on empty? Ben Johnson up front about Bears' need to boost ground game vs. Rams

The Bears obviously haven’t run out of miracle finishes, but has Ben Johnson’s offense peaked? 

As the Bears were recovering from an 0-2 start with eight victories in nine games, Johnson kept the big picture in focus — for the Bears to be playing their best football in December. And as the final month began, the Bears were living up to that. 

After going down to the final play in a loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7, the Bears responded with a convincing 31-3 victory over the Browns at Soldier Field on Dec. 14. They struggled in the first half but still rallied to beat the Packers at Soldier Field on Dec. 14. And on a short week, they went toe-to-toe with the 49ers in a 42-38 loss at Levi’s Stadium, with four touchdowns and 440 yards of total offense (6.9 per play).

But since they high moment, the Bears have been creaky on offense. They were shutout through three quarters in a 19-16 loss to the Lions on Jan. 4. And they scored six points through three quarters in the wild-card game against the Packers before a tremendous fourth-quarter rally sparked them to an unforgettable 31-27 victory at Soldier Field. 

Quarterback Caleb Williams has been pretty much the same quarterback through it all — a low completion percentage, avoiding interceptions and making big plays when necessary. It’s the running game that has become a red flag. 

Even with an outstanding quarterback in Williams, the running game was the signature of the Johnson offense. After averaging 102.3 rushing yards in their first four games, the Bears responded after the bye week with a rushing onslaught — averaging an NFL-best 170.2 yards in their first 11 games after the bye. 

And numbers alone did not tell the story. The Bears and their offensive line were clearly impactful to the naked eye in the post-bye surge, with blockers and running backs noticeably pushing the pile and winning the physical battle — with seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai leading that charge, rushing for 130 yards against the Eagles and 176 yards two weeks later against the Bengals. 

The Bears’ offensive line and Monangai seem to have lost some of that verve in recent weeks. The Bears had 18 carries for 65 yards in the loss to the Lions. And 28 carries for 93 yards against the Packers last week. (In two regular-season games against the Packers, the Bears rushed for 138 yards at Lambeau Field and 150 yards at Soldier Field.).

Monangai hasn’t been quite the battering ram he was earlier in the season. He had six carries for 14 yards (2.3 average) against the Lions in Week 18 and eight carries for 27 yards (3.4 average) against the Packers last week. 

“It feels like it’s dipped a little bit. Not something we certainly want,” Johnson told reporters when asked about the run game this week. “Late in the season we wanted that to pick up — playoffs, weather games like this, you certainly want to be able to lean on your run game.”

The Bears’ offensive line has been the most significant personnel upgrade since Johnson was hired. Left guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman made the initial Pro Bowl roster. And Thuney and right guard Darnell Wright were named to the All-Pro team. And those four — obviously the strength of the line — have started the last 14 games since the bye. 

But that long-sought continuity can’t be ignored as part of the issue. With their early Week 5 bye, the Bears will be playing for the 15th consecutive week on Sunday against the Rams in the divisional round. Dalman (970 snaps), Wright (970), Thuney (969) and Jackson (950) have played more snaps since Week 6 than any other offensive player in the NFL. 

The impact of wear-and-tear in the NFL is difficult to quantify, but every player feels it. And it adds up as the season progresses. The Bears have 14 starters or rotation players who will be playing for the 15th consecutive week Sunday. (The Rams had their bye in Week 8, and will be playing for the 12th consecutive week — not that abnormal.)

The Packers and Steelers also had a Week 5 bye and made the playoffs. The Packers rested starters in Week 18 and lost to the Bears in a wild-card game. The Steelers, like the Bears, had starters playing for the 14th consecutive week in their wild-card game against the Texans and lost 30-6 at home. 

The playoffs are a war of attrition at the end of a war of attrition. For what it’s worth, the last team to play its starters the final 13 weeks of the regular season and win in the divisional round is the 2016 Packers, who beat the Cowboys 34-31 at Texas Stadium on Mason Crosby’s 51-yard field goal as time expired. (The Packers lost to the Falcons 44-21 in the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome the following week.)

And the last team with the early bye to win the Super Bowl was the 2005 Steelers, who beat the Bengals (31-17), Colts (21-18) and Broncos (34-17) on the road before beating the Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field. 

That sets up an intriguing scenario for Sunday’s game against the Rams. Under Johnson, the Bears have consistently fixed issues that become part of the weekly narrative (the run game over the bye, Rome Odunze’s targets, DJ Moore’s disappearance, beating the Packers, etc.). With the exception of Williams’ accuracy, when Johnson puts his mind to addressing an issue, he often succeeds. 

But, notably, Johnson didn’t make any promises with the run game that is at the root of the Bears’ recent offensive issues. D’Andre Swift (30) and Monangai (15) combined for 45 rushes of 10 or more yards in the regular season. They’ve had one in the last two weeks — Swift’s 10-yard run against the Lions in Week 18. 

“What can we do to ignite that? It’s both efficient runs to stay on track and ahead of the chains, and also explosive runs as well,” Johnson said “Where can we find a few of those? I’ll say this: we’ve got a really tough opponent in that regard [against the Rams]. They do a really good job. 

“I think the front is their strength. These guys at the line of scrimmage are really good football players. They shed blocks at an elite level. They are relentless. They’re violent across the board. So I have a lot of respect for them, and we’re gonna have to be on our ‘A’ game to run it on this crew.” 

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