Chicago Bears: 5 positives halfway through the season

The clear need for James Daniels

In now his third season in the NFL, James Daniels was off to one of the best seasons of his career before suffering a torn pectoral muscle. He was a huge part of their successful run game early in 2020 before he went down.

Before Daniels got hurt, the Bears were averaging 138 rushing yards per game (4.9 yards per carry) and now have not even rushed for more than 100 yards since then as a team. Their yards per carry has been below 3.0 in every single game except their recent game against the Saints.

Daniels was putting it together as a run-blocker as that was what he was drafted for. With him now being a permanent left guard, he had a chance to completely learn the position with new offensive line coach Juan Castillo at his side. It paid off greatly as Daniels was one of the Bears’ highest-graded run blockers to start the season and didn’t allow a single sack.

Hopefully, Daniels bounces back because he can be a valuable asset down the line for this Bears’ offense.