Chicago Bears Reportedly Planning Big Offensive Change For Lions Game

The Chicago Bears couldn't get it done on opening night against the Minnesota Vikings. There were multiple reasons why. Caleb Williams went through a bad stretch where he missed open receivers. The defense allowed three consecutive touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Cairo Santos missed a crucial field goal and failed to kick the ball out of the end zone on the final kickoff, costing the Bears the two-minute warning. However, one thing that wasn't talked about enough was the complete disappearance of the running game.

Excluding Williams' scrambles, the Bears managed just 61 yards on 20 carries in the game. D'Andre Swift averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Not all of that was on him. Minnesota's defensive line did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage, and Brian Flores loaded the box frequently. That said, Swift still missed opportunities. It sounds like head coach Ben Johnson is planning to shake things up going into Detroit this weekend. That means getting rookie Kyle Monangai more touches.

"I need to call more runs. We probably were at, what, under 20 for called runs in the game. I need to call more so that we get him in the game a little bit more. That's something EB (Eric Bieniemy) and I have talked about, making sure he has more carries going forward."

This was a move that felt inevitable for the Chicago Bears.

Swift is a talented player who can do many good things. However, he never felt like a good fit for Johnson's offense. The Bears head coach runs a primarily wide-zone scheme, which demands a running back with good vision who can see where the lanes will develop. Swift has never been able to do that consistently. By contrast, Monangai may not have the same speed or athleticism, but his vision is excellent. He demonstrated a great sense of where the holes would be countless times at Rutgers. He's also more of a downhill runner, something Johnson prefers as his primary back. It isn't clear why Chicago didn't get him more involved against Minnesota, but he was coming off an injury. Whatever the case, it sounds like the training wheels are off. Monangai will get his shot on Sunday.