Bears RB D’Andre Swift decommits after three-week struggle

Bears tight end Cole Kmet moved into the hole from the right side and blocked Rams outside linebacker Michael Hoecht to the ground just as running back D’Andre Swift was taking the handoff in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

Swift jumped over Hoecht, looked up and had a thought.

“Run,” he said.

Swift moved his feet at the 30-yard line and ripped a seam at the 25-yard line, moving from right to left. Halfway between the left hash and the numbers painted on the Soldier Field turf, he sprinted straight, untouched, into the north end zone.

In that moment on Sunday, Swift looked every bit like the running back the Bears committed $24 million over three years to in March. He hadn’t done that in the first three games, when he was statistically the worst starting running back in the NFL. Before Sunday’s 24-18 win, he averaged 1.8 yards per carry, which is the lowest in the NFL among rushers with at least eight carries. On Sunday, he ran 16 times for 93 yards – a 5.8 average.

Put more simply: Swift’s touchdown run on Sunday resulted in more rushing yards than in any of the Bears’ first three games.

Swift had vowed to do better. It was Sunday.

“I know who I am,” he said. “I know what I can bring to this team. If we don’t succeed, I take it upon myself to find ways to improve.”

That also applies to the Bears’ leadership team – rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, receiver DJ Moore and tight ends Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis – who met with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Monday. They begged Waldron to train them harder to increase the players’ responsibility.

“We’re in a business, so it has to be that way,” Swift said. “We have the mentality of holding up your end of the bargain every day. You have to look in the mirror and do that.”

On game day, they wanted Waldron to allow them to get into a rhythm. This happened on Sunday in the fourth quarter; Swift had carried the ball twice in the previous three games before scoring the 36-yard touchdown.

“That’s the key point,” said receiver Rome Odunze. “Especially in football when you move the ball with such evil intentions, violently in the running game, and move people away from where they want to be. That’s always fun.”

Since the Bears played most of the game without guard Teven Jenkins, the maligned offensive line was physical. Backup running back Roschon Johnson had seven carries for 26 yards and a one-yard touchdown – crucial after the Bears’ botched short-yardage series in Week 3. Even Williams had a seven-yard run.

“Getting (Swift) going… that means everything to us,” left tackle Braxton Jones said. “Now you just build on it.”

Swift also made it through the air, leading the Bears with seven catches, seven targets and 72 receiving yards. He became the first Bears player since Jeremy Langford in 2015 to have more than 70 rushing yards and 70 receiving yards in the same game. It’s been so long since it was against the St. Louis Rams.

“Swift had a really nice game, so I was happy for him,” said coach Matt Eberflus. “He was racking his brains. He always stays positive. It’s not just him either. That’s the offensive line working the double teams and making the holes in front of him. And then I thought the perimeter blocking was really good – it was much improved compared to the first few weeks.”

That’s good news for the Bears, who finally got their money’s worth on Sunday, and for Williams. It’s no coincidence that the best game of his young career came when the Bears ran the ball well for the first time.

“When you have a successful running game,” Swift said, “it opens everything up.”