Chicago Bears lose to Buccaneers: Offensive grades
Running Backs: C-
Life as a running back must be tough with Mike Glennon as your quarterback.
After topping 100 yards rushing last week combined, Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen combined for 20 rushing yards total. 20. Yards.
Tarik Cohen led all Bears rushers with 13 yards on the ground. And that had nothing to do with the flow of the game and lack of carries either. It was just a purely miserable performance for him and Howard.
Howard’s health going forward could complicate matters for the Bears as well. The Bears’ top running back from a year ago apparently left yesterday’s game with his arm in a sling after being questionable with a shoulder injury.
#Bears RB Jordan Howard left Raymond James Stadium with his right arm in a sling. Was on injury report with shoulder last week.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 17, 2017
If he has to miss any significant time, can Cohen handle the burden of being the Bears’ main running back? Truthfully, while he’s talented enough, I’m not sure. Cohen can only take so much of a beating against stacked defensive fronts. And his overeagerness to cut back and go off-script instead of hitting holes still needs some work.
And while Cohen remains a threat out of the backfield, he’ll only be so effective if checking down is all Glennon is capable of doing. The electric rookie can’t thrive if defenders are swarming him the moment he plucks the ball out of the air.
It’s sad to see this happen. Instead of Howard and Cohen helping Glennon out, they’re suffering in the wake of his incompetence. And they’re both far too talented for that.