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David Montgomery Is The Bears Unsung Hero

Trey Daubert / NFL / December 30, 2020

David Montgomery Is The Bears Unsung Hero

The Bears have an offense? Chicago has scored more than 30 points in four consecutive weeks? With Mitch Trubisky running the show? How is any of this possible? Chicago’s offensive emergence starts and ends with David Montgomery figuring out how to play football overnight.

I’ll be the first to admit, I never saw the Montgomery hype. He has a high broken tackle rate in college but never looked high twitch enough to be an elite back. As a rookie, the former Iowa State product looked terrible. In 2019, Montgomery averaged a paltry 3.7 yards per carry.

Even in 2020, Montgomery was mostly meh. He has three weeks this year with 30 or fewer rushing yards in a game. Once again, nothing about Montgomery looked special. I’m not sure what happened but the light bulb has gone on.

Since Week 12 when Chicago got blown out by Green Bay, everything changed. Montgomery picked up a 57 yard run against the Packers and from that moment on, has sort of figured it out on the fly. I’m not sure what happened but Mongomery went from terrible to elite overnight.

Week 12 vs Green Bay: 11 carries for 103 yards
Week 13 vs Detroit: 17 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns

Week 14 vs Houston: 11 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown
Week 15 vs Minnesota: 32 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns
Week 16 vs Jacksonville: 23 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown

Montgomery has caught fire and so has Chicago’s offense. It’s amazing what a good run game can do for an offense. Montgomery has been so good that Chicago might end up franchising Mitch Trubisky. How awesome would that be, by the way!

For those who are looking at early 2021 fantasy content, I’m not sure how Montgomery isn’t high on your list. Yes, Chicago’s offense feels like a bit of a fluke, but Montgomery feels real. The Bears RB ranks third in the NFL in broken tackles behind Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry.

Why Chicago Bears Running Back David Montgomery Is Underrated

David Montgomery can play! I’m not sure how it happened so fast but it’s time to acknowledge the Montgomery era is very real. If Chicago makes the playoffs, they can thank their former third round pick in 2019 for figuring it out.