Chicago Bears: 5 Players who must shine vs. Lions in Week 10
David Montgomery
Is it the chicken or the egg? The Chicago Bears’ running attack is struggling. Is it the running attack that is causing part of the struggle or is the struggling offense causing trouble for the running attack?
When the Bears drafted David Montgomery they had visions of him running wild. Some even thought he could win the Offensive Rookie of the Year. So far, however, things have been a little rough.
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Montgomery is averaging just 3.6 yards per rush this season. He has a total of 406 rushing yards. It seems every time he runs the ball he’s met with a wall of humanity.
The trouble with the running game isn’t just with Montgomery. He’s been great when compared with the other runners. The second-leading rusher on the team is a wide receiver, Cordarrelle Patterson, with just 78 yards.
Montgomery has shown signs of breaking out, however. He’s gotten 43 percent of his total rushing yards in just the past two games. Yes, he got 135 of those yards in one game against the weak Los Angeles Chargers defense, but you could see with his runs that he is ready to break out in a consistent matter.
Montgomery is also finding the end zone. In the past two games, he reached the end zone three times. Yards are nice, but you don’t win with yards, you win with points.
Montgomery should have a big game. The Detroit Lions’ defense ranks 31st in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed. Also, their rush defense ranks 27th in rushing yards and 25th in rushing touchdowns.
This is a great game for Montgomery to continue his upward trend. He’ll show more of his elusiveness and find the end zone multiple times again, perhaps helping the Bears turn things around.