Monday night, Luke Getsy stunned Bill Belichick with a series of designed quarterback runs, prompting perhaps the greatest head coach in NFL history to say afterward that he got out-coached.
Now what?
Will the Bears’ first-year coordinator continue to call Lamar Jackson-inspired run plays for quarterback Justin Fields? Will he develop a Plan B to exploit a defense focused on Fields? Or have his quarterback throw, given that Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons is one of the few athletes on the planet who can run step-for-step with Fields?
Are the quarterback runs a permanent part of the Bears’ offense now, or just a strategy used to win one game?
In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, Getsy is only as good as his next game. His chess match Sunday against the Cowboys will be the most compelling of his nascent play-calling career.
“That’s the challenge of every coach across the league,” Getsy said Thursday. “To find ways to do what your guys do well without letting it be so obvious or predictable.”
The Bears aren’t scrapping an offensive attack they’ve been working on since the spring.
“I think it’s just staying within who we are, what we do,” Getsy said. “Guys have a lot reps and believe in things conceptually. and we’ve got to keep continuing to maneuver that through.
“That’s what this league is. I think it’s, teams that do too much, it’s hard to be good at it. And teams that are really, really good, they usually do what they do pretty well and then just make it look a little different to the defense.”
That leaves plenty of room for wrinkles, though. Getsy installed quarterback runs during the “mini-bye,” inspired by Jackson’s four passing touchdowns and 107 rushing yards against in a 37-26 win against the same Patriots on Sept. 25.
The Bears had Fields carry the ball on counter runs — starting in one direction and then running the other way, behind a pulling guard and tackle — rather than hand the ball off to running backs to do the same.
“Any time you’re reviewing the film … and you see something that just jumps off the screen like that, you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Getsy said.
Because he did, the Cowboys — and every other team on the Bears’ schedule — have something else to think about.
“Luke has been really creative in the run game,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “People who know football and watch the film can see the creativity in the run game, which is pretty fun. I think we have some stuff this week that’s pretty creative.”
Fields is willing to perform the planned runs— “I do expect teams to of course prepare for that more,” the quarterback said — but must be able to steer the offense in new directions, too. He needs to be able to make quick, efficient throws to punish the Cowboys for spying him. At the same time, his presence as a runner should loosen things up for running backs David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.
“You’d hope that would create some more opportunities in the pass game along with that,” Kmet said. “Like I said, after the game Monday night, I think we lean into this, you know? I think we’ve got three really good runners between Justin, Khalil and David. We’ve got a line that’s physical up front with tight ends and fullbacks who are willing to block.
“I think you lean into that, and kind of let the pass game create itself on its own.”
That’s up for Getsy to decide. On a short week to prepare for the Cowboys, he can double down on Fields’ runs or try something new.
Asked what the challenge was to try to replicate their offensive success from Monday, Montgomery smiled.
“Doing it all over again,” he said. “That’s the challenge.”
