Hub Arkush’s 2020 Bears report card: Running backs

How bad was the Chicago Bears’ ground game in 2020?

That the team finished 25th in rushing yards and 21st in average gain per rush doesn’t begin to tell the story.

The Bears were 30th in the league running the football until late-season adjustments to the offensive line and scheme unleashed its potential, but it was too little too late.

Consider these numbers from the Bears’ first five losses of the season:

Significant improvement coming out of the bye against the Packers, Lions, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars and Packers got them to the playoffs, but it was nullified wild-card weekend as the Bears were held to nine points and 48 yards on 19 carries – the second time around against the Saints.

After poor quarterback play, it was the second-biggest problem with the team’s woeful 2020 offense, but it wasn’t because of poor play by the running backs.

How they were used was the biggest issue.

Positives: David Montgomery had a breakout second half of his sophomore year, finishing with 247 carries for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. He also finished as the Bears’ third-leading receiver with 54 catches for 438 yards and two more TDs.

Montgomery was one of the best in the NFL at making the first tackler miss and piling up yards after contact. His 1,508 yards from scrimmage were fourth among NFL backs, trailing only Derrick Henry (2,141), Dalvin Cook (1,918) and Alvin Kamara (1,688).

Montgomery lacks “long speed” but has great initial and short-area quickness and outstanding balance, and he is rarely tackled by only one defender.

Cordarrelle Patterson prepped for the position as a special weapon and third-down option going into the season but became the No. 2 back by default. He was the most violent of the Bears’ runners and produced decent numbers – 64 carries, 232 yards, one TD – but poor play in front of him on the O-line and questionable play design and play-calling limited his production more than his own play.

Artavis Pierce showed just enough to tease us with his six carries for 34 yards, but why he didn’t get more is anybody’s guess.

Negatives: The offense took a huge hit when Tarik Cohen tore his ACL in Week 3 against the Falcons.

Although Cohen, like Patterson, really is a better fit as a third-down specialist, he was No. 2 on the depth chart. The Bears never really figured out a regular rotation behind Montgomery once he went down.

There was hope when the Bears added former Pro Bowl back Lamar Miller immediately after the loss to the Colts in Week 5 – reuniting him with former coaches Bill Lazor and Charles London, whom he played for in Miami and Houston – but his time as a Bear was limited to the practice squad other than being activated Week 10 against the Vikings and getting two catches for 6 yards but no rushes.

Washington signed him off the Bears’ practice squad before Week 15.

Ryan Nall has been excellent in the preseason, but the Bears refuse to give him the ball in real games. He was active more than half the season and made special teams contributions but got only three carries and nine targets.

Defining moments: It was obvious throughout the offseason and preseason that the Bears were dangerously thin at running back. They lacked a true No. 2, but they chose to ignore the deficiency and paid the price when Cohen went down.

The other big moment: switching to an outside zone-read run scheme coming out of the bye flipped a switch for the offensive line and Montgomery.

Contract status: Montgomery has two years left on his rookie deal, and Cohen got a three-year extension last offseason, but Patterson is a free agent. Pierce and Nall remain under team control.

Hub’s grade: B

To be a bit more nuanced, it’s a B+ for Montgomery, a C+ for the other backs and a C for the running game plan.

Hub’s plan: Montgomery can be one of the best backs in the league over the next three or four seasons if the Bears upgrade the tackle positions and stick with the scheme they went to coming out of the bye this season.

It would be a shame to lose Patterson to free agency, but they are in good shape on third downs with Cohen and Montgomery as options.

For a truly effective ground game, the Bears need to add a legitimate No. 2 this offseason, which I’d like to see them address in the third round of the draft, but it can be done on Day 3, as well.