The Bears are allowing 6.1 yards per carry, the second-most in the history of the sport — and they haven’t even faced a running quarterback yet. None of the passers the Bears have faced so far this season rank in the top half of quarterbacks in terms of rushing yards. One, the Lions’ Jared Goff, has only 9.
Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, then, will present a problem Monday unlike one they’ve seen all season. Since entering the league a year ago, Daniels has run for 1,015 yards, the second-most in the NFL behind Lamar Jackson. Only the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts has more runs than his 174.
“The engine to this thing is the quarterback, and the ability of the quarterback to run the football,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said Friday. “That makes you play 11-on-11 football.”
The Bears have had enough trouble playing 11-on-10, with the quarterback no threat to run or block. They’ve allowed 164.5 rushing yards per game, second-most to only the Dolphins. The Commanders lead the league with 156.4 rushing yards per game.
Stopping the Commanders, Allen said, is a bit like playing a triple-option team in college. Every defender has responsibilities, and someone always has to watch the quarterback.
“[Daniels] strikes a lot of fear into opposing coaches, because you look at him and you know you got to account for him, not just as an accurate passer, not just as a scrambler, but the quarterback-driven run game that they do a lot of,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “And [he’s] so fast, slippery. It’s going to take all 11 guys playing disciplined football to make sure we contain their attack.”
Asked for a scouting report on the Bears by Commanders reporters Wednesday, Daniels said they had “relatively the same players on defense from last year.” That’s a scary thought — Daniels ran eight times for 52 yards against the Bears last year. Two of the runs converted third downs.
Among quarterbacks, Daniels ranks ninth in rushing yards and eighth in rushing attempts this season despite missing two games with a left knee injury. He returned for last week’s win against the Chargers wearing a brace, but still ran for 39 yards.
He’s not just scrambling. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s offense is predicated on designed quarterback runs.
“It’s his speed, it’s his vision … ” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “It’s his athleticism, and he can make a lot of off-schedule throws and off-schedule runs. Even if something’s not there, you’ve got to account for the quarterback in the run game, too.”
The threat of last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year running is its own benefit; rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has posted two of the most explosive games in the league this year with his quarterback healthy. He ran 10 times for 82 yards and a touchdown in the season opener and then 14 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns Sunday.
Croskey-Merritt was the last running back taken in this year’s draft, 12 spots below the Bears’ Kyle Monangai. He’s been one of the best running backs in the NFL through five weeks; among those with 25 or more carries, he ranks first in both expected points added per play and success rate.
The Bears’ bye week self-scouting session showed just how poorly they’ve played the run this season. Allen said the culprit came at all three levels of the defense.
“We just have to do a better job of attacking and getting off of blocks,” he said. “Then we have to do a better job of tackling, particularly in space. I think that’s probably the biggest thing we have to work on.”
If not, Daniels will make them pay.
“Dangerous,” Johnson said. “He’s a big reason why their running game is what it is.”