NEWSLETTER
The days between Week 1 and Week 2 are usually some of the spiciest when it comes to hot takes and overreactions, right up there with the preseason opener. So, yes, some folks are out there wondering if Khalil Herbert should dethrone David Montgomery as the Bears’ top option in the backfield.
Herbert led the Bears backfield with 45 yards on nine carries and a touchdown that sealed the victory in the fourth quarter. Herbert picked up 5.0 yards per carry in his limited workload and handled 100 percent of the goal line touches and 50 percent of the short yardage touches.
Montgomery was bad in Week 1, picking up just 26 yards on 17 carries (1.5 yards per carry). He did catch three passes for 24 yards and did his part in the pass-blocking game per usual. Montgomery earned an 80.4 pass-blocking grade from PFF this week. PFF had Montgomery with five pass-blocking opportunities against the 49ers and no pressures allowed.
Herbert wasn’t used in any pass-pro situations on Sunday, and his overall body of work in 2021 was a mixed bag. PFF gave him a 61.5 pass-block grade for the season, but it doesn’t tell the entire story. Herbert registered six games with pass-block grades north of 70 last season and two over 80. There’s no doubt that Herbert has room for improvement in pass pro, and Montgomery is better, but I don’t think it’s as bad as some make it out to be.
Let’s establish two things here. First, Khalil Herbert was fantastic on Sunday. He was a key cog in the Bears’ second-half success offensively, and he slammed the door shut on the 49ers with his late touchdown run.
The vision by Herbert on this play was phenomenal. The design was to the right, but Herbert saw that there was nothing cooking and saw the hole open up to his left. Herbert hit the hole and scored thanks to his great first-step acceleration, an area where Herbert has an advantage over Montgomery.
Still, and this is the second of two things we should establish here today, David Montgomery is the lead back in Chicago.
As Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy stuck with Montgomery and the run game despite a lack of results throughout Sunday’s victory, they’ll be seeing their commitment to Montgomery through, at least for the time being.
Matt Eberflus said in April that he wanted to see his running backs expand their roles within the offense and be multi-dimensional, specifically in the passing game, both as a receiver and pass protector.
“We’re going to stress those guys and stretch their role, meaning that, can he run the whole gamut of the passing tree? Which, you know, it looks like he can. What kind of routes is he good at? How’s the timing of that? Can he beat guys one-on-one consistently? Is it a safety or a linebacker that’s covering him? Can he do that? It’s a positive way for that guy to do that if he can beat all those guys — DBs and linebackers — and we feel he has the skill set to do that.” Eberflus said back in April.
While Khalil Herbert is the quicker and shifter back, Monty has the advantage with a more well-rounded skillset, and the Bears want to extract value out of that package of skills.
Herbert is a solid RB2 right now and a change of pace for the Bears coaching staff when they need it, but probably nothing more than that. One rain-soaked clunker against a darn good San Francisco defense isn’t going to change the Bears’ plans in the backfield.
