Bears have let Big Dog out of the cage, and it's paying off

The Chicago Bears have started to alter their offensive personnel with each passing week during the 2023 season, and it's starting to pay off.

The Bears began the season operating the heavy majority of their plays out of 11-personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end, and 3 wide receivers) but have shifted toward using more 12-personnel looks (1 running back, 2 tight ends, and 2 wide receivers) over the past few weeks.

The personnel change makes sense considering the team doesn't need to use a 3rd wide receiver on offense as much after trading away wide receiver Chase Claypool and placing wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown on the injured reserve.

The result as opened the door for Marcedes Lewis to start seeing more snaps on offense as the second tight end. The team's veteran free agent acquisition has been known in his later years of being a remarkable run blocker and catching defenses by surprise as a dump off target in the passing game.

The man they call "Big Dog" played 22 combined offensive snaps during the Bears first three weeks of the season. However, since Week 3, Lewis has played 20.5 snaps per game. From Weeks 1-3, the Bears ran 10.4 percent of their plays out of 12 personnel. From Weeks 4-7, that percent as increased to 32.7 percent.

Since shifting to more 12 personnel looks and utilizing Lewis more often on offense, the Bears unit has seen a massive up-tick in their running game, which shouldn't come as a surprise.

In Week 5, the Bears offense ran a season-high 42.2 percent of their snaps out of 12 personnel and Lewis played 22 offensive snaps. The offense rushed for a season-high 178 yards in their 40-20 win over the Commanders.

In Week 7, the Bears second win of the season, the team operated out of 12 personnel on 34.8 percent of their offensive plays and Lewis played a season-high 23 offensive snaps. As a result, the unit again rushed for over 170 yards.

Since shifting to this new look on offense, the Bears went from averaging 101.7 rushing yards per game to 171.0 rushing yards per game. The teams point margin in those games went from -59 in Weeks 1-3 to +29 in Weeks 4-7.

That kind of difference and production turnaround is insane to think about, but by making a few tweaks, the Bears have fully transformed their offense. 

The Lewis signing and reunion into the Luke Getsy offense is finally starting to pay off. It's even been nice to see the Big Dog eat in the passing game. Lewis caught his second pass of the season last weekend against the Raiders, turned it into a 16-yard gain, and nearly fought his way into the endzone.

For a player in his record-breaking 18th season, you can't help but be happy for Lewis finally getting involved. Let's see if the Bears continue to utilize their new-found success in Week 8 against the Los Angeles Chargers 31st-ranked defense.