Matt Eberflus knew what he was stepping into when he took over as Chicago Bears head coach. The organization had a reputation already established. Good defense. Bad offense. It has been that way for a long time. His predecessor Matt Nagy was supposed to fix it, bringing the mighty Kansas City Chiefs system with him. It didn’t work. The Bears never ranked outside the 20s in total offense during his tenure. Eberflus somehow had to fix that despite being a “defensive” guy.
It hasn’t gone smoothly thus far. Chicago has the worst passing attack in the league and is 24th in scoring. However, they have emerged as the most dominant ground attack in football at the same time. Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy have leaned into the strengths of their personnel. It paid off with a 33-14 drubbing of the Patriots, by far the most dominant win any Bears team has had in years. The running game led the way with 243 yards. Eberflus was asked later what had led to so much success on the ground.
His answer was based on simple logic and also became an accidental jab at Nagy. Credit to the Barroom Network for spotting it first.
#Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus was asked what's behind the excellent production of the run game and I almost had a heart attack. pic.twitter.com/o4jH8m92cp
— Barroom Network (@BarroomNetwork) October 26, 2022
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Matt Eberflus is correct in his assessment.
The Bears are #1 because they execute well and stick with it. They’re #2 in the league in rushing attempts. They’re willing to stay patient, wearing opponents down throughout a game. Having the one-two punch of David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert, along with Justin Fields‘ dangerous speed, makes it a menacing backfield. Nagy’s problem was he tended to get overly pass-happy during games, even when the ground attack was working.
He willingly went away from what the Bears did well to what they didn’t do well. It was his fatal flaw as an offensive coordinator. The guy wanted to chuck the ball 35-40 times per game. It’s why critics accused him of not understanding the strengths and weaknesses of his players. Matt Eberflus didn’t intend to make the same mistake. It hasn’t always been pretty, but this new Bears offense at least has an identity. The players have embraced it, and now it’s yielding results.
