Bears head coach Ben Johnson is thrilled by the competition at running back — not that D’Andre Swift’s starting job is necessarily up for grabs.
Kyle Monangai’s stellar game against the league’s worst defense didn’t guarantee the Bears will find extra carries for him when Swift returns from injury.
Monangai ran 26 times for 176 yards against the Bengals on Sunday, the second-most yards of any Bears rookie running back in franchise history. He added three catches for 22 yards.
Even Brittain Brown, who was promoted from the practice squad and took his first career NFL snaps, contributed 37 yards on five carries.
"[Monangai] took full advantage of the opportunity handed him, and really Brittain as well,” Johnson said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in all the runners...
“Each week’s going to have a different story, but hopefully they feel a little bit of competition amongst themselves to make it clear to the coaching staff that you need to get the ball in my hands, and that’s a good thing.”
Swift missed his first game as a Bear because of a groin injury that had been bothering him for about a month. He didn’t practice at all last week.