This relates to the topic we've had on this board about "abandoning the run" and how "you've got to run the ball to win in the playoffs."
We had some debate on the board about abandoning the run after the Rams lost to Chicago.
Don't get me wrong!
I love to watch an effective running game.
I love to see the Rams physically dominate.
I love to see them say "we're going to run the ball. We know it, you know it, and there's nothing you can do about it."
But sometimes you just can't. Sometimes the defense isn't going to give you that. Or you don't have the team built for that.
The Bears ran the ball 18 times for 65 yards. Not great.
More than that, they only ran it 6 times in the 2nd half.
So they abandoned the run and they lost, right?
Yeah, but the Eagles ran the ball only 23 times for 42 yards, 9 times in the 2nd half.
So they abandoned the run too, sort of. And they won.
To be fair, they did sprinkle a couple of runs in on their game winning drive.
But most of the damage was done with Foles' passing. It wasn't like they'd been running so effectively that the Bears had to respect that.
Both teams threw the ball much more than they passed. Eagles threw 40 times, the Bears 43 times.
And that's also reflected in their 1st downs.
The Eagles got 17 1st downs passing, only 2 rushing.
The Bears got 12 1st downs passing, only 3 rushing.
No matter who won this game, it was going to be a team that had "abandoned the run".
I think this reinforces the fact that you have to take what the defense is giving you.
And you have to do what's working for you.
You can run and win, if in fact you CAN run, but you can pass and win, too.
The Eagles couldn't run effectively against the Bears. They didn't try to force it.
They passed and they won.
The Bears actually had much better success on a yard per carry basis 3.6 to Philly's 1.8
But they, too, gave up on the run, but lost the game because of a missed field goal.
Just something to keep in mind as we watch these playoffs, and people are screaming about play call choices.
Ramily!
