The Chicago Bears were victorious on Sunday in their season-opening game against the Tennessee Titans 24-17 at Soldier Field. Despite the win, there were some legitimate concerns regarding the team’s offense as the unit did not score a touchdown and only generated 148 total yards. The Bears’ rushing offense was especially troubling, given the running back personnel they chose to deploy against the Titans, as there appears to be no clarity for any long-term roles.
No apparent defined roles at running back after D’Andre Swift
In the victory over Tennessee, Chicago’s offense recorded 17 rushing attempts for 69 yards, outside of the five rushing attempts from quarterback Caleb Williams. Starting running back D’Andre Swift led the team with ten rushes for 30 yards while Khalil Herbert, Velus Jones Jr, and Travis Homer finishing tied for second with two attempts each. Outside of the newly acquired Swift, it appears that new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron does not know who the best backup to hand the ball off to is.
The uncertainty behind D’Andre Swift is especially troubling when noting the experienced and power runners Chicago has on the roster with Herbert and Roschon Johnson, both who finished first and third in rushing attempts on offense last season. One of the more confusing roster decisions made before the game on Sunday was the Bears’ decision to have Johnson listed as an inactive, especially when he was heralded for his ability to run between the tackles and capabilities in pass-blocking.
Issues in the running game and questions regarding roles were especially concerning with Herbert recording the same usage as Jones Jr, who was moved to running back from wide receiver during the offseason and is a similar type of back to D’Andre Swift. Heading into the 2024 season, many fans and analysts believed that after Swift, Waldron’s offense would feature the fourth-year back and Johnson as change of pace runners to compliment the speedy starter. The only time Herbert was used against the Titans on Sunday was for a short-yardage fourth down situation.
When Caleb Williams and the passing offense was struggling throughout Sunday’s game against the Titans, the Bears were unable to and unwillingly to turn their rushing attack to move the football. D’Andre Swift was running laterally instead of straight ahead and in between the tackles. Although his best run of 20 yards came late in the fourth quarter with Chicago holding the lead, the newly signed running back had nine other rushes for just ten yards. It was surprising that with such a close came in the fourth quarter, Waldron didn’t turn to Herbert, who has experience being relied on to close out games.
D’Andre Swift is a reliable running back as he is an explosive player in both the rushing and passing offense as he is a skilled pass-catcher. Despite the explosiveness, the halfback doesn’t have the size to be relied on for +20 carries, especially a heavily workload late in games. Both Herbert and Johnson have the capabilities to handle the late-game workload and can be trusted to provide power on the inside runs, something Chicago’s starting back or Jones Jr are capable of.
D’Andre Swift needs an inside rusher to help set him up for sustained success
The other aspect to the uncertainty surrounding the Bears’ running back position after D’Andre Swift is that the rushing offense is being relied on to help setup the pass. Waldron’s offensive system uses play-action fakes and boot-leg rollouts to help freeze the opposing defense in order to allows pass-catchers to gain separation. Although Swift is a believable threat on rushing attempts to the outside or perimeter, a traditional play-action fake may not fool defenses due to his inability to run inside the numbers. Without a credible inside runner, Chicago’s offensive scheme’s best chance to freeze opponents would be on rollouts unfortunately.
Swift is at his best when used in a spread offense or an offense where a running back can capitalize off a successful passing attack. In Philadelphia last season, he rushed for over 1,000 yards, recorded 39 receptions, and scored seven touchdowns. The reason why D’Andre Swift was effective in the Eagles’ offense was because of significant opposing coverage being paid to players like Jalen Hurts, A.J Brown, And DeVonta Smith, who were coming off of a historic season in 2022.
Even with the lackluster debut by the offense against the Titans, Chicago’s rushing offense still has a chance to be successful but needs to help the passing attack get started. Being able to establish the inside run will in turn help setup the play-action fake passing offense which will then allow D’Andre Swift and Jones Jr to be effective and explosive on the outside on rushing attempts. In order for that to happen Waldron must given more carries to Herbert and Johnson, as they have experience and success running in between the tackles.
Although Sunday’s results from an offensive standpoint are troubling, there are still sixteen more games for Chicago’s offense to perform. If there is any silver lining to the lackluster performance, it is that Waldron could be forced to establish and solidify the running back roles behind D’Andre Swift before the Bears’ next game on the road in Houston against the Texans. If Chicago wishes to have any chance at winning in a hostile environment like Houston, the team must have success running the football, something they survived without doing against the Titans.
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