Chicago Bears: 5 Players who must shine vs. Raiders in Week 5

David Montgomery has to give the quarterback some help

The Chicago Bears’ running game has been more miss than hit this season. They rushed for 46 yards in Week 1, then rushed for 153 yards in Week 2, but then had only 90 yards and 72 yards in Weeks 3 and 4. They rank just 25th in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards per rush.

More from NFL Spin Zone

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
• Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
• Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
• Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens

That has to improve starting this week. Daniel did well against Minnesota but one could argue that part of the reason for that was that the Vikings didn’t prepare for him. Oakland has film and knows he’ll be the starter. They’ll be better prepared for what he does.

In order to take some pressure off of Daniel, Montgomery needs to have a good game. He needs to be able to gain enough yards for the defense to respect him. If the defense zeroes in on Montgomery, it opens the field up for Daniel. He’ll have more open receivers to hit.

As I mentioned, Montgomery has done a pretty good job of getting the yards he’s gotten this year. Many people think he hasn’t been the runner the team talked about, but I think he’s been impressive getting his yards with the small holes to try to run through. He’s been hitting walls all season, but his balance and strength allow him to get through and pick up some yards. He’s shown that his reputation as a slippery runner in college was well-earned. We can just imagine how well he’ll do when he has bigger holes open for him.

Hopefully, Montgomery gets a chance to shine this week and become an international star.