The Chicago Bears Have the Formula if They Stick To It

It should’ve been eye-opening for the Chicago Bears on Sunday against Pittsburgh. They beat an NFL team in 2017 with just 84 net passing yards.

According to common myth that shouldn’t happen in this day and age. Teams need to throw for 300 yards every week to have a chance. Except no. That’s not true. Time and time again it’s not a commitment to the pass that often decides which teams have success. It’s a commitment to the run. That doesn’t necessarily mean great success running the ball, even though the Bears are having that thanks to Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen.

It means making a concerted effort to hand the ball off a significant number of time each week, even when it might not be working all that great. Want an idea of how important it can be? Going into week 4, seven of the teams who rank in the top 10 in rushing attempts so far this year have a winning record. Think this doesn’t matter for the Bears? Get ready for some schooling.

Of the past four times the Bears have finished just in the top 15 for most rushing attempts, they finished with a record of .500 or better in three of them.

Do the Bears need better quarterback play? Of course they do. They’ve needed it for the better part of three decades. Still they seem to have the pieces necessary now where they can run the ball and play good defense. That can earn some victories in the NFL. Of course it won’t matter if the coaches don’t make an earnest effort to commit to such a game plan each week. Opponents may know it’s coming, but if the execution is right and the players know their jobs then it won’t matter. Sooner or later the opponents will break.

Here’s hoping they stick to that in Green Bay.