Forte's return expected to boost Chicago Bears' offense

The longer the Chicago Bears can keep Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the sidelines Thanksgiving night in Green Bay, the better their chances of springing an upset on their longtime archrivals.

That means controlling the clock by running the ball, and the Bears are in a better position to do that than at any time this year. Matt Forte is expected back at full strength after missing three games with a sprained knee. And rookie Jeremy Langford proved in Forte's absence that he's a big-play threat as a runner and receiver.

“We have a chance to have a really interesting 1-2 punch here with Matt and Jeremy,” said Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase. “Matt getting back, it's going to be exciting for me. Just knowing those two guys are back there makes me feel very comfortable calling plays.

“I think any time you've got two really talented running backs, it's not going to be a problem. You're always trying to find the hot hand.”

It also bodes well for the Bears that their most productive day running the ball this year was against the Packers in the season opener. Even though they were defeated 31-23, the Bears rolled up 189 yards on the ground, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, easily their highest marks of 2015.

And that was before Langford established himself as a viable complement to Forte, who had his only 100-yard game of the season vs. Green Bay. He rushed for 141 yards on 24 carries for a season-best 5.9 yards a carry.

Gase said the success on the ground in Week 1 was a combination of fortunate circumstances, Forte's running and quarterback Jay Cutler getting the offense into the right play.

“It's one of those deals where you call a couple of plays at the right time, and they call a certain (pass-rush) pressure at the right time, and it just fit up right for us,” Gase said. “Matt made a couple of really nice runs when there was a very small crease, (but) he found it and had some explosive plays.

“Then there were a couple of plays where Jay (by switching to run plays) put us in a better position than the original play that was called.”

Forte had 3 carries of at least 20 yards in the opener.

Last week the Packers held the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson to 45 yards on 13 carries (3.5-yard average), but they're just 22nd in the league in rushing yards and 23rd in average gain per rush allowed.

Offensively, the Bears are 15th in rushing yards but only 25th in average gain per run.

Even when they haven't had immediate success in the run game, the Bears have done a commendable job of sticking with it, and that patience usually has paid off. The Bears are No. 8 in the league in time of possession with an average of 31:04 per game.

“We've been pretty successful of doing that all year long,” Cutler said. “Controlling the clock and getting the running game going. The offense has evolved a lot since that first week. So hopefully we can do much of the same.”

After an encouraging Tuesday practice, Forte sounds ready to roll.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “It was not a full practice, but I was running full speed because I wanted to get the feeling and timing of making cuts and doing all that stuff. I did that before the game on Sunday as well, and I felt good. I'm good enough to go.”

No one, including Forte, considers it a problem if the Bears have two running backs competing for carries. The veteran turns 30 next month, and he's on record as saying a little more downtime could make him even more effective when he's in the game, an opinion shared by Cutler.

“It's great,” the Bears' quarterback said. “We haven't had much of a drop-off (with Langford in). Getting Matt back is only going to help us. Anytime you get 22 (Forte's number) back in the lineup, it's going to help.”

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