Chicago Bears: Surprising positives to build on from loss to Rams
By Ryan Heckman
1. The Chicago Bears ran all over the no. 3 rushing defense from last year
Remember, all offseason Matt Nagy continued to say that he wanted to get running back David Montgomery 20 or more carries per game. On Sunday night, Montgomery got close — and should have been given more opportunities.
From the beginning of the game, Montgomery was electric. He opened by rushing for a 41-yard dash on his first carry of the game; the Bears’ second play of the game.
Montgomery ran hard from the first snap to the very last whistle, and even dragged Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald into the end zone with him for the Bears’ first touchdown of the game.
Montgomery ended the night with 108 yards on 16 carries and that lone touchdown. He also caught his lone target for 10 yards.
Between Montgomery, Damien Williams, Andy Dalton and Justin Fields, the Bears rushed for 134 yards on Sunday night — a whole lot more than most would have guessed. The Rams came into this one boasting the no. 3 run defense in all of football from 2020, and kept the majority of their players on defense for this season.
The last thing I’ll say about the run game is this: the interior of the Bears’ offensive line looked very good. Aside from just a couple of missed blocks, they blocked extremely well for Montgomery and company.