Ashton Jeanty’s monster performance against the Bears gives the team a taste of what could have been, and what’s still missing
Much needed reality check.
The Chicago Bears managed to steal a win on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders with a gritty late-game stop, but a lot was left on the field, and the Bears know it.
The Bears handed the Raiders a chance to break the game wide open, and the same thing can be said about the Raiders. It was a tough game, all things considered.
On Chicago’s side of things, the defense played just well enough, thanks in part to four turnovers and a few clutch bend-but-don’t-break stands. Stepping back and looking at the entire game as a whole, it’s clear what this team is missing, and it’s something that finally opened up for the Raiders, despite the final score.
Bears made a mistake by not addressing the RB position more aggressively
After how the 2024 season ended, a lot needed to be cleaned up in Chicago. The team needed an entirely new coaching staff, massive improvements on the offensive front, and some reinforcements on the defensive line. Those areas were must-fix problems, and one problem that fell between the cracks was finding an additional running back to diversify the rushing attack.
After hiring head coach Ben Johnson and bringing in his offensive scheme, many believed the running back position would be more of a priority. But the team opted to overhaul the trenches in free agency and looked to the NFL Draft to fill in the lingering needs.
All throughout the draft process, since hiring Johnson, Ashton Jeanty was a name linked to the Bears, but landing at 10th overall was wishful thinking. Instead of making an aggressive move up, the Bears stayed put, allowing the Raiders to select Jeanty sixth overall.
It’s only fitting Jeanty’s breakout performance came against the Bears on the same week Johnson gushed over the same traits in Jeanty’s game that his offense is missing from the Bears’ current running backs. Jeanty finished the game with 138 yards on the ground (averaging 6.6 yards per carry) with three total touchdowns. Jeanty was bouncing off defenders and ripping off multiple big runs.
Meanwhile, Bears’ running back D’Andre Swift was held to 38 yards on 14 carries, and the only other back to get a touch was seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai — a recurring issue for the offense.
That scene on the same field in the same game was a slap in the face of the Bears’ offseason process when it came to attacking the running back position and improving the run game for this offense.
As it stands, the Bears will head into the bye week at 2-2. If a considerable change were to be made to the roster, now would be the time to make it one quarter into the season. We’ll see if any aggressive moves are made this time after such an eye-opening realization.
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