The Jaguars and Bears are trying to win without their quarterbacks. Can it be done?

Quarterback is unquestionably the most important position in football, but at least two teams in the NFL are trying to win without one. Sure, there’s someone under center for the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars, and yes, they occasionally throw passes, but both teams are aiming to throw as infrequently as possible.

In an overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Bears ran the ball 54 times and asked Mitchell Trubisky to throw just 16 times. The Jaguars abandoned throwing with Blake Bortles altogether in a 30-9 win over the Steelers, running the ball on the last 18 plays of the game and never throwing a pass after the eight-minute mark in the third quarter.

It’s a formula that has produced wins for teams in the past. When done right, it could even end in a Super Bowl run. But it’s not an easy path to follow:

The only NFL team in the last decade to finish an entire regular season with fewer than 400 pass attempts was the 2009 New York Jets, who were anchored by the erratic play of rookie Mark Sanchez.

The first-round pick finished the year with 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. The Jets finished with a 9-7 record anyway, thanks to the trio of Thomas Jones, Shonn Greene and Leon Washington, who combined for more than 500 rushes and averaged 4.45 yards per carry.

The grinding attack served the Jets well in the playoffs, but it was their No. 1 defense that helped the team to back-to-back wins and a trip to the AFC Championship.

If there’s one thing that will ruin a game plan that features a heavy emphasis on a ground attack, it’s allowing the other team to jump out to a lead. It takes a strong defense that keeps opponents off the board and doesn’t force the offense to play catch up.

The Seattle Seahawks did exactly that in 2012 and 2013 — leaning on the NFL’s top scoring defense and a healthy dose of Marshawn Lynch to hold Russell Wilson to an average of just 25 passes per game over his first two seasons. It resulted in 11-5 and 13-3 seasons, and a win in Super Bowl XLVIII.

To win without a quarterback, everything else about a team has to run without a hitch. The offense has to be functional with a run-oriented game plan, and the defense has to play well enough to carry a team that likely won’t score much.

For Chicago and Jacksonville, there are some kinks in that scheme.

The Bears are turning the ball over too often

While Chicago is 2-4 and essentially thought of as an afterthought in the NFC playoff race, the beginning of the season hasn’t been that bad for the Bears.

The team came one play away from beating the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 and held its last four opponents to no more than 300 yards of offense. While the Bears’ defense is No. 25 in points allowed, it’s No. 6 in yards allowed.

The biggest problem for the Bears has been 14 turnovers in the last five weeks. Plenty of those turnovers were via Mike Glennon, who threw five interceptions and fumbled five times in his four starts before he was benched for Mitchell Trubisky, who has an interception and three fumbles himself in limited time.

Trubisky, 23, has shown positive signs early in his NFL career, but the Bears are trying their best to keep him from doing too much. That meant giving Jordan Howard 36 carries against the Ravens, the most for any Bears player since 2000 and the most of any NFL player in a game so far in 2017.

But the 14 total turnovers for the team are second to only the hapless Cleveland Browns.

If the Bears hope to stick to a plan that relies on a steady ground attack and strong defense, they will need their offense to stop handing points to the opponent.

The Jaguars’ run defense is causing problems

Jacksonville’s biggest problem is Blake Bortles. That was clear in 2016, it was clear in August, and it’s still the issue now. But if the Jaguars hope to win without him, the team will need the defense to do better.

With Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye and one of the NFL’s best pass rushes, defending quarterbacks hasn’t been an issue. The team has also forced an NFL-best 17 turnovers — 12 of which came in three wins.

But the Jaguars are giving up way too much on the ground.

In wins over the Texans, Ravens and Steelers, the Jaguars allowed an average of 99 rushing yards. In losses to the Titans, Jets and Rams, the team gave up 192.3 per game.

In Bortles’ four years as the Jaguars’ starter, the team is 3-27 when he’s asked to throw 35 times or more. It’s 11-11, if he’s kept under that mark. The workhorse this year has been rookie Leonard Fournette, who leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns.

If there’s one thing the Jaguars can’t afford, it’s to be behind on the scoreboard. Giving up 5.2 yards per rush so far in 2017 isn’t helping the team stick to that low-scoring strategy on a weekly basis.

Running the ball successfully has always been a path to wins in the NFL. It drives offensive success, allows a team to control time of possession, and usually makes life easy on a defense that gets plenty of time to rest between drives.

But having a trustworthy quarterback makes things a whole lot easier.

For the teams that are attempting to win without one, it takes mistake-free football grounded by an excellent defense. The Bears and the Jaguars haven’t quite found that balance yet to be consistently successful.