Chicago Bears: 3 players whose stock soared in win over Panthers

1. RB David Montgomery

Over the first five weeks of the season, it was easy to criticize Matt Nagy for how he approached the run game. Several times, he called oddities on 3rd-and-short situations. Other times, he would pass on obvious running downs.

In total, the Bears haven’t performed well in multiple aspects of the run game. Whether it’s play calling or blocking, it’s been tough for David Montgomery to get anything going. With the lack of opportunities and poor blocking as main concerns, the Bears at least took a step forward against the Panthers.

Montgomery was given the most carries he’s received all season with 19, plus he added four receptions. Those 23 opportunities were the most he’s received in total all year. The yards per carry weren’t too impressive, but that can mostly be attributed to blocking, as per usual.

Yet, Montgomery looked strong running the ball. He had a couple of runs between the 7-13 yard range even though blocking broke down. The fact that Nagy didn’t completely abandon using his top running back was astonishing, quite honestly. If you look past the handful of zero or one-yard runs, this kid looked phenomenal. His strength and wherewithal is elite.

Montgomery made the most of his opportunities overall, posting 97 total hard-earned yards. That went as his second-highest total of the year thus far, and if the Bears are to keep winning, Nagy knows he’ll have to continue feeding his workhorse back. After all, he’s a great running back and will continue to prove that.