Bears Next Gen Nuggets

It seems like forever ago that the Chicago Bears last played a game, which is usually what happens when they lose a tough one on Thursday Night Football. Taking a TNF L leads to extra-long doom and gloom as we anticipate Chicago’s next matchup. But had they pulled out the win last Thursday night, then we’d be spending happier times breaking down the dub and looking forward to keeping it rolling with their next contest.

The Bears have an extra day this week to prepare for the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, so let’s dive into a couple of nice nuggets from our friends over at Zebra Technologies, the people behind the Next Gen Stats.

On his 64-yard run, Khalil Herbert traveled a total distance of 99.1 yards – the most distance traveled on a non-TD run this season and 3rd most over the last 6 seasons (since 2017). Herbert’s expected rushing yards on the carry was 6 yards, giving him a career-high +58 RYOE (2nd most of any player in Week 6). The +58 rushing yards over expectation was the 2nd most by any Bears rusher since 2018. Herbert also had 63.2 rush yards after contact on the play.

That was an exciting run by Herbert, and in case you needed a refresher, here you go.

We talked about that play and the next one as well on our recent Bear & Balanced, so make sure you check out the video here or listen to the podcast version here.

Here’s the other Next Gen Stats nugget about the Bears...

Justin Fields’ 40-yard TD pass to Dante Pettis had a completion probability of 22.9%, the most improbable completion of Fields’ career. This contributed to Fields’ 11 average intended air yards, 2nd highest of any QB this week. At the time, the TD added a win probability of +16.7% for the Bears, giving them a 59.6% chance to win the game.