Bears are set to get a key part of the offense back against the Lions and he can help the unit control the game in Week 16
The Chicago Bears has been struggling heavily the last few weeks, which has been a common theme all season, with the slow starts.Before, the issues stemmed from negative plays such as penalties, sacks, drops, incompletions, etc. Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, another issue joined that list: converting on short-yardage situations.The last thing the unit […]
The Chicago Bears has been struggling heavily the last few weeks, which has been a common theme all season, with the slow starts.
Before, the issues stemmed from negative plays such as penalties, sacks, drops, incompletions, etc. Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, another issue joined that list: converting on short-yardage situations.
The last thing the unit needed was another issue holding the team back, but luckily they'll have an answer for it on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
The Bears are expected to have running back Roschon Johnson back in the lineup for Week 16 sharing the backfield with D'Andre Swift. Johnson and Swift made for a solid pairing in the backfield throughout the season, especially after Thomas Brown took over offensive play-calling duties.
Johnson has mainly served as the Bears' short-yardage and goal line back along with running the backfield during two minute situations. However, in Week 13 against the Detroit Lions, Johnson suffered a concussion that held him out of the next two games. As of this week, Johnson cleared protocol, was back at practice, and enters the weekend with no injury designations.
With Johnson out of the lineup against the Vikings, the unit struggled picking up first downs on short-yardage run plays. In the loss, the unit failed to convert on two fourth-and-short attempts with Swift in the first-half and also had a goal line carry go for -2 yards in the second-half.
It's hard to sustain drives and score points when you have drive killing plays like that. Having a bigger downhill style back will help improve some of those things.
This season, Johnson has rushed for 16 first downs on 48 attempts and scored six rushing touchdowns, all from the 1-yard line.
"You have different guys in that role from a body-type standpoint… Roschon's made a big hit this year when it comes to short-yardage, goal line, getting the tough yards," Brown explained after Friday's practice.
Having Swift and Johnson rotating back in the backfield will be a major boost for the offense as a whole, and it's returning at the right time. Last week against the Buffalo Bills, the Lions' defense struggled containing multiple backs in different ways. James Cook rushed for 105 yards on 14 carries while Ty Johnson caught 5 passes for 114 yards out of the backfield.
When asked if his offense took note of that performance last week, Brown replied he might have a plan for that while having a smile on his face.
"We had a couple of opportunities in the first game that we played [Detroit]… I think you talk about always having a matchup… having an opportunity to get some guys in different spots," Brown added. "We might have a plan for it, so we'll see."
A good mismatch for the Bears to implement against the Lions will be sending Swift out as a pass catcher matched up against the Lions' injury depleted linebacker room, similar to how the Bills used Johnson. In the last two weeks, Swift only had two receptions on three targets for 12 yards. Sounds like we can expect to see all three numbers improve this weekend.
We'll see if that plan and the return of Johnson helps spark some improvement for a unit that has been yearning for it the last few games.
Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions Broadcast Map: Will you be able to watch on TV?
Another matchup against a division rival.
