Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints: Offensive Grades

Running Backs: C+

Games like yesterday show us both why one could make the argument that Jordan Howard is vastly underappreciated and why he might be valued right where he should be.

You just have to admire the power persistence and patience with which Howard runs the football. Whatever the play is, or how many bodies are in front of him, Howard just keeps plugging away.

He creates yards out of nothing. He finds holes most bigger backs, and even some smaller backs like Cohen, don’t allow to develop. And he has underrated speed in the open field.

But my goodness man, catch the football.

And yes, I know Howard had three receptions in this game. I’m talking about him now failing to catch a probable touchdown twice on nearly the exact same type of play in the red zone. These aren’t the easiest catches, but they have to be made especially for an offense that struggles to score touchdowns.

Fortunately,  Cohen was able to pick him up with a leaping 1-yard touchdown. I must say, while it shouldn’t surprise anyone given how explosive yes, that was one heck of a leap.

Other than that, though, Cohen did little on offense, doing his damage on a 46-yard kickoff return to set up the last drive.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears need more from their running backs if they want to win football games. The coaching staff is going to put seemingly every game on their shoulders. If they don’t deliver, good luck.