In typical Bears fashion, disaster struck just as they began to find their offensive rhythm, which was matched to a free-playing Justin Fields and a strong ground attack.
Running back Khalil Herbert suffered an ankle injury during the Bears’ 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders on Thursday night at FedEx Field. Herbert had his ankle badly taped and tried to return to the game but couldn’t and limped off the field.
On Sunday, NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported that Herbert will be out for “several weeks” due to the injury. The Bears are signing running back Darrynton Evans from the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad to bolster their running back room, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago.
After three weeks of inefficient offense to start the season, the Bears found their rhythm against the Denver Broncos and Commanders. While Fields and wide receiver DJ Moore will grab the headlines, the return of a productive and explosive running game has fueled the offensive resurgence.
Tight Cole Kmet, wide receiver Darnell Mooney, offensive lineman Teven Jenkins and Fields cited ground play as a reason the Bears’ offense has come alive in the last two games.
Herbert’s patience, vision and explosiveness are the main reasons for the return of the running game.
Over the last two weeks, Herbert has rushed for 179 yards on 28 carries, good for 6.3 yards per carry. The Bears’ ability to return to their core power run game with Herbert has helped give Fields more leeway in the passing game, letting defenses get into contention more often than in the first three games.
It is unclear whether Herbert will have to go on injured reserve. Rookie running back Roschon Johnson also left the Commanders game due to a concussion.
Losing their top two defenders could be the death knell for some ground attackers, but an unnoticed free-agent addition should allow the Bears to weather the storm.
The Bears signed veteran running back D’Onta Foreman to a one-year, $2 million contract in March. At the time of the signing, it appeared that Foreman would compete with Herbert for the Bears’ lead back role. But the selection of Johnson a week later changed those plans, and the rookie jumped ahead of Foreman on the depth chart after Week 1, forcing Foreman to be a healthy scratch for the final four games.
With Hebert out for a few weeks, Foreman, who is coming off a career year in 2022, should get a chance to stabilize the Bears’ ground game and keep the train rolling.
Foreman is coming off a 2022 season in which he rushed for 913 yards and five touchdowns on 203 attempts. Foreman forced 34 missed tackles while scoring 21 explosive runs with a breakaway percentage of 33.2 (percentage of yards gained on runs of 15 yards or more).
That breakout, explosion, big-play ability and wiggle is why the Bears signed Foreman as the perfect complement to Herbert. Little did they know at the time of signing that Johnson would fall into their lap. That led to a crowded backcourt in which Foreman has been the underdog for the past month.
This should no longer be the case.
Foreman is a solid defender with the one-cut-and-go ability needed to thrive in the Bears’ ground game. Assuming Johnson doesn’t give up much time, Foreman and the rookie should form a solid one-two punch that will allow the Bears’ offense to stay balanced.
Getting Khalil Hebert going helped awaken the Bears’ offense from its early-season slumber.
A week ago, it seemed like Foreman wouldn’t be in Chicago much longer.
Now, in the wake of Herbert’s injury, Foreman’s signing could be one of general manager Ryan Poles’ most valuable offseason moves – one that could be the difference between the Bears’ offense maintaining its new rhythm or turning into the directionless attack that which they have trotted out for the first three weeks.
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