The Chicago Bears travel to Jacksonville this Sunday and they should be thinking run first.
With Matt Forte back to 100% and Michael Bush making the most of his goal-line opportunities the Bears could simply be too much for the Jaguars defense.
Obviously it’s easy to say that considering the talent the Bears have in the backfield, but the stats just aren’t favoring Jacksonville.
The Jaguars have allowed the third most rushing yards per game (150.2) in the league. They’ve allowed six touchdowns on the ground and an average of 35 carries per game to opposing running backs.
Opposing runners have averaged 4.3 ypc against Jacksonville.
The Bears are No. 16 in the league in yards per game (101.0) on the ground. They’ve scored four touchdowns on the ground, while averaging an unimpressive 3.4 ypc.
The Bears are one of four teams that haven’t lost a fumble on the ground this season.
With all that being said, the Bears are most likely going to come out running against Jacksonville.
The Bears had just 93 yards on 28 carries on Monday night in their 34-18 win over the Cowboys.
The Jaguars are going to try and stack the box and shut down the Bears dynamic runners.
Jaguars safety Dawan Landry is known as a hard hitter.Jacksonville likes bringing him in the box to stop the run, so you’ll see that often against the Bears.
The Bears should be able to be successful on the ground against the Jaguars.
Expect to see plenty of third-string back Kahlil Bell if this game gets out of hand.
The Bears’ running attack against the Jaguars defense is a key matchup to watch on Sunday.
Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.
