(Photo: ESPN/NFL)
The run game for the Bears was abysmal on Monday night. With no Roschon Johnson, the Bears relied heavily on D'Andre Swift, being the only running back who had a carry. He finished with 17 carries and 53 yards (3.1 yards per carry). Once again, for the Bears, it was the quarterback who led the rushing attack, with Williams going for 58 yards on six carries (9.7 YPC) and a touchdown. Johnson acknowledged the problems with the run game during his press conference on Tuesday:
"I would start with this, that was a top-five run defense from a year ago. And in their opinion, they improved their front. So, it's hard to start with, so you've gotta give them some credit. With that being said, we anticipated being on the same page more than what we were. There were some times when we made the 'Mike' point, we weren't all on the same page. That's a little bit of time on task. That's also a multiplicity of fronts we were seeing this particular week. He makes it very difficult. But we've all gotta be on the same page. The sooner that we can grow as a unit, it's five guys all playing as one, and if you include the tight ends, it's six or seven as a part of it as well."
As of now, Johnson has been limited with a foot injury, and his status is still unknown for Sunday. Will we see more from rookie Kyle Monangai, who did catch a pass for 11 yards in the opener, or will we see Swift continue to be the bell cow? As for now, I don't see a world where Swift should be the only running back getting carries. The Vikings and Lions both show that having two good backs makes a huge difference. Jordan Mason was incredible in the second half for Minnesota, while Aaron Jones did his thing in the passing game. We'll see if Chicago follows those lessons.