Chicago Bears: Khalil Herbert plays well in place of David Montgomery

The Chicago Bears might have found something in Khalil Herbert, as he was the main catalyst that led them to their win over the Las Vegas Raiders in week five.

When David Montgomery went down with a sprained knee in week four against the Detroit Lions (placed on injured reserve), many thought former Kansas City Chief running back Damien Williams would be the lead back right away. The free-agent running back signed a one-year deal this past offseason, and when Montgomery was out, he saw the bulk of the carries (had 8 for 55 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown). So, it was interesting to see what the Chicago Bears would do with their running backs heading into Week 5 against the Raiders.

However, both Williams (who was dealing with a minor thigh bruise) and Herbert stepped up to the challenge and led the Bears to their third win of the season 20-9. This was a smart decision by Chicago, using their running back committee to pound the rock against a below-average run defense in the Raiders. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields leaning on the strong ground game will limit the turnovers and should let the Bears set the tempo early on in games.

Khalil Herbert led the team in carries and rushing yards over Damien Williams despite a similar snap count. The rookie running back had 18 carries and 75 yards on the ground (with no reception), while the veteran had two fewer touches (with 16 but had two catches along with a rushing touchdown). The split touches will likely continue, as Herbert is the tone-setter that brings patience to run downhill while Williams is more the elusive pass-catching back.

With the size of a scatback at 5’9″ but with the power and balance sitting at 212 pounds, the former sixth round pick looked explosive out of the backfield when he got his touches. When Herbert had found the gap and had the space to run, the 23-year-old rookie made defenders miss repeatedly and displayed toughness by breaking multiple tackles. Khalil Herbert did not get much of a chance at Kansas (2016-2019) but transferred to Virginia Tech in 2020 and was a focal point of their offense as the lead back, rushing for over 1,000 yards on 155 carries with 9 total touchdowns.

Late-round gems in the NFL Draft are hard to find but it looks like Chicago got tremendous value at the running back position and an exciting player in Khalil Herbert for years to come behind a back like David Montgomery.