We've seen the results over the first two weeks of the season so far. Just about everyone who's watched the Chicago Bears offense has come to the same conclusion: it's hard to watch.
The season is still young, but the Bears aren't looking so hot at 0-2. Adapting is key to success in the NFL. And the Bears should change their offense by running the triple-option flexbone offense.
It's the same offense that Army, Navy and the Air Force run. These elite schools run the triple option to perfection. They're some of the only college football programs that run this offense. It's called the flexbone because it's a modern version of the wishbone offense from the days of old. It features a fullback, two slotbacks, and two wide receivers. The offense is a relic of another time, but it might make sense for the Bears to implement the formation into their playbook.
Typically, Army, Navy and Air Force run the triple-option with the quarterback under center. For the first in decades, Army did the unthinkable and got rid of this tradition, electing to change their offense by implementing a shotgun offense that still features some run-option concepts, per Sports Illustrated.
For this article, we're going to focus on the traditional triple-option flexbone offense with the quarterback under center.
If the Bears added the triple-option to their offense, they'd be the only team in the NFL to run it. But they have the personnel and depth at running back to make it work.
The Bears are already used to running the ball. They ran for 3,014 rushing yards last season, the most in the league, per StatMuse. Quarterback Justin Fields led the charge for this ground-and-pound offense, racking up 1,143 rushing yards, which is second all-time among quarterbacks in a single season.
Fields is naturally a running quarterback. Putting him in situations where he's using his legs to gain yards puts the team in the best position to win. While the Bears have tried to develop him into a pocket quarterback, the cold hard truth is Fields wasn't built for that.
Out of the triple-option, Fields can throw the ball to his receivers off the play-action pass and the bootleg, allowing him to roll out of the pocket and throw on the run instead of looking uncomfortable in the pocket. The passing concepts within this offense are limited, but they're short, easy completions that rely on exposing a defense that's expecting the run.
If Fields doesn't hand the ball off to the fullback, he can either pitch it to the running back trailing behind him on the outside run or keep it and follow his lead blockers. It's an old-fashioned offense that relies on pulling guards, smashmouth football, and a tough quarterback under center.
The Bears could also run quarterback-designed runs out of this formation. Besides Fields, running a triple-option offense gives stud running backs like Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson a chance to run over defenses. If the Bears ran this offense, Herbert would most likely be the fullback with Foreman and Johnson as the slotbacks.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is a defensive-minded coach. After leading the league in rushing last year, the Bears could stick to their roots and go stick with the power run. This time, however, out of the triple-option.
If the Bears are skeptical about changing their entire offense, that's understandable. Instead, it makes sense to add this formation to their playbook.