Bears: Why didn’t David Montgomery get more carries in Week 14?
David Montgomery started off hot but did not get many carries in the end
At the 10:16 mark of the first quarter, the Chicago Bears ran their first offensive play of the day against the Houston Texans in Week 14. The result of their first play from scrimmage was an 80-yard touchdown run by second-year running back David Montgomery. After that score, Bears fans thought Montgomery was in for a monster game on the ground. Well, that didn’t necessarily happen.
The 2019 third-round draft pick did finish the contest with 113 rushing yards and that touchdown and had three catches for 42 yards to go along with that. However, Montgomery amassed his rushing total on only 11 carries. With a start like that, many thought that the Iowa State product would have ended the day with at least 170 rushing yards.
Montgomery is by far the team’s primary running back and has proven that he is capable of carrying the load for Chicago’s ground attack. So, why didn’t head coach Matt Nagy and offensive coordinator Bill Lazor feed him the rock more against the Texans with a comfortable lead? Furthermore, why aren’t they trying to establish more chemistry in the running game to help quarterback Mitchell Trubisky?
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Over the past three games, the Bears have started the same five offensive linemen. With all of the shuffling along the offensive front due to injury and inconsistent play, Chicago has finally found some consistency.
This last game against Houston was the perfect time to continue to get that running game going for these final three crucial games of the regular season. Although Trubisky’s play will be the thing that everyone will be primarily focused on, Montgomery’s production (along with Cordarrelle Patterson’s) will be just as vital.
The Bears’ running game can be the key to helping open up play-action passes for Trubisky, help keep the offense on the field for extended periods of time, and give Chicago’s defense more time to rest than usual.
Mitch Trubisky all smiles in Week 14. dark. Next
Don’t be mistaken, it’s great to see the Bears finally pull out a win after a six-game losing streak, and still have a chance at the postseason. However, this offense needs to be more balanced heading into the home stretch for Chicago to have any chance of getting a wildcard spot. So, all in all, Montgomery needs to see more carries in the running game.