The Chicago Bears have been trending up in recent weeks. They are 4-4 in the last eight games, and are coming off of a win. However, there are always some issues with the roster and some things that could be improved for the team. Which players on the Bears have been trending down in recent weeks?
5. The Chicago Bears reduced the snaps of Yannick Ngakoue in week 12
The Chicago Bears signing of Yannick Ngakoue has not gone well. In typical Bears fashion, this will be the first time that Ngakoue does not record eight sacks in a season. The Bears have given him plenty of shots, and he has been a poor rusher and run defender.
The thought was that the addition of Montez Sweat would make everyone around him better. It did, expect for Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue had a 5.3% pass rush win rate without Sweat, and that is down to 2.7%. To be fair, that went from 90th out of 113 qualified rushers to 95th out of 99 qualified rushers, so he has been poor all year. Still, he has somehow been worse with Sweat.
Someone like DeMarcus Walker has upped his game with Sweat. He has had nine pressures in the past two weeks, and his win rate is up from 8.7% to 15.8% with the addition of Sweat.
The Bears showcased a look against Minnesota that had Sweat and Walker on the right side and then Gervon Dexter with Justin Jones on the other. It opens the door for stunts and a lot of interesting looks.
Of course, this means Ngakoue is on the sideline. On run downs, their best look is Sweat and Walker on the edges, with Jones next to Andrew Billings inside. No Ngakoue.
Ngakoue was down to 52.7% of the snaps played against Minnesota, by far the lowest rate of his season. His second lowest was 62.3% in week three.
Will he continue to lose snaps as the season goes on, or will he get to redeem himself after the bye?
4. Tyler Scott is playing a lot less for the Chicago Bears
There was a stretch of four or five games where Tyler Scott was involved in the offense. Tyson Bagent was at quarterback, and he had chemistry with Scott from training camp. Also, Equanimeous St. Brown was out of the lineup, so they had limited options at wideout. Either way, from weeks six through nine, Scott ran 63% of the routes, had a 13% target per route run, a 10% target rate, and had 24% of the team's air yards. He was a piece of the offense.
Then, St. Brown came back and started to push him out. With Justin Fields back, Scott was slowly phased out. From week ten on, the Bears have had Scot run ust 30% of the routes, he had a 9% target per route run, 4% target rate, and 9% of the air yards.
It has been a steady drop, and last week was his lowest point. He was at 21% routes, with no targets. Scott was signed to replace Darnell Mooney, and he has not had injuries knock him out of games. Until that happens, Scott will either be out of place or on the bench. His ascension from weeks six through nine has been a steady fall in the past three weeks.
3. The Chicago Bears did not give Khalil Herbert the same work after his injury
When Khalil Herbert left with an injury in week five he was the lead back. However, after missing five games, it has taken him more than two games to get back into the swing of things.
In the first five games of the season, Herbert played 59% of the snaps and had 43% of the rushing attempts. He also ran 46% of the routes. In the two games since his return, he played just 33% of the snaps, with 31% of the rushing attempts and 27% of the routes run.
It made sense to ease him back in week 11, and D’onta Foreman was the hot hand. However, in week 12, they rode with Roschon Johnson, and Herbert actually played fewer snaps.
It may be because he does not look all the way back. Herbert is an explosive back who looks like he may lack some explosion. Since his return, he has had 22 carries for 59 yards. After 16 carries for 35 yards in his return, Chicago decided to ease him back and let the bye week help his return. Is Herbert too hurt to contribute, or does he gain steam after the bye?
2. The Chicago Bears are not getting the best out of Darnell Wright
Darnell Wright looks like he will have a solid career in the NFL. His first year checked a lot of boxes, including going up against a lot of high-level talent. However, he has hit a wall. It can be traced back to week six against Danielle Hunter. He played well but ended up on the injury report. It was a bad time to get injured because he faced Maxx Crosby and the Raiders the following week. Wright toughed it out, but you could tell he was not quite healthy. Since then, his play has declined.
PFF grades do not tell you everything, but in the first six weeks, his PPF grade was 69.6, and it went to 52 in the last six games. That comes right after the appearance on the injury report and right during the Crosby game.
Wright is a rookie. Most college players are used to their season being over by now, and they all had a bye week already. Wright has had neither and is playing through some bumps and bruises. His play has dropped off, as expected. Now, can he get back on track after the bye week?
1. Jack Sanborn naturally lost a bigger role with the Chicago Bears
It is not a surprise in any way that Jack Sanborn saw his role shrink. He went from starting in place of Tremaine Edmuns to going back to his old role. Still, after playing in 46% of the snaps in week 11, it was a bit surprising to see him drop all the way to 23.6% of the snaps in week 12, just 13 overall.
That was his lowest total snap count of the season and his lowest snap share as well. The Bears' defense has not dropped off, and it likely was the pieces around Sanborn that made the unit better in the two games he started compared to Edmunds. Still, Sanborn has been playing good ball, so it is tough to see him lose the snaps like that. Some of that comes from Minnesota spending a lot of time from behind and throwing more, so the Bears ran more nickel.
Still, they have to find ways to mix and match and get him out there for more run-downs. He is a heady blitzer as well. Monday night was a big drop-off, though.