Bears’ offensive performance from Week 2 of the preseason should quiet a narrative regarding a supposed position of need
It might not be as big of a need as many expect.
The Chicago Bears 38-0 win over the Buffalo Bills showed a lot of progressive strides from the entire roster during the second week of the preseason, but still some major concerns.
The offensive operation looked really strong for the most part, outside of a few minor penalties, but the real concern was the amount of injuries to the depth for the second week in a row.
CB Terell Smith (knee), DE Austin Booker (knee), DE Dominique Robinson (ankle), RB Deion Hankins (foot), and WR JP Richardson (ankle) all suffered injuries throughout the game while the team was already dealing with a few injury-related absences going into it.
Smith’s knee injury seemed to be the most serious with head coach Ben Johnson saying it “didn’t look good” after going down on a non-contact play. It’s a big blow to the cornerback room which could see another addition later this week.
One position fans were particularly concerned about was at running back. Going into the game, the Bears sat four backs on the roster due to a variety of reasons in D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, and Travis Homer.
Swift was likely sitting due to rest, Johnson missed the second game in a row due to a foot injury, and Homer was not expected to play. The surprise was not seeing Monangai, the seventh-round rookie, who had six carries in the preseason opener. During and after the game, general manager Ryan Poles and Johnson didn’t have any concern that his absence would be anything long-term.
Usually having this many problems at the same position would lead to some kind of addition going into the next week, except the rest of the backs really showed up and carried the load on Sunday night.
Second-year Ian Wheeler finished the game with 19 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns while newly-signed back Brittain Brown got 16 carries for 73 yards and another score.
A big reason why is due to the play of the offensive line, which created massive running lanes and even some skill players got involved to make some key blocks to open up space. If that continues to be the case, the Bears should feel confident in the room as it stands.
At the very least, the team could hold another tryout with a few backs at the start of the week, like the team did last week when they brought in Brown, Tyrion Davis-Price, Aaron Shampklin, Jamaal Williams. Regardless, no major move should be expected such as a trade for Brian Robinson Jr.
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