Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery was last season’s fifth-leading rusher in the NFL, and he will need to repeat an elite level season for the Bears’ offense to succeed.
Montgomery has sparked conversation recently, after being named PFF’s 21st ranked running back and claiming to be ranked 25th per CBS’s running back rankings.
Outside of that, Montgomery is motivated for this upcoming season and accordingly “disappointed” with how he performed last season for the Bears.
We’re here to say that Montgomery may have been the reason for the Bears’ second playoff stint in the last three seasons.
Last season, Montgomery was the turning point in the regular season for the Bears playoff hopes. He put on a spectacle in the last six weeks of the season, scoring a touchdown in each of the Bears’ last five games and averaging just under 100 rushing yards per game in that span too.
He helped the team record three wins in their last four games to push them into the final NFC wild-card position, even while the offense struggled.
What sparked change in the Chicago Bears’ rushing offense?
The lightened schedule could have been a factor, like playing the Vikings, Jaguars, and Texans. But Bill Lazor could also be accredited with the use of Montgomery in the backfield.
In the week before Lazor took over the play-calling, the Bears recorded 88.4 rushing yards per game (32nd), rushed the ball on 34.89 percent of plays (31st), and scored 0.3 rushing touchdowns per game (32nd).
After Lazor took over playcalling on Nov. 13, the Bears moved their totals up to 99.7 rushing yards per game (27th), 37.33 percent rushing play calls (27th), and 0.7 rushing touchdowns per game (29th).
