D’Andre Swift fuels Bears’ running game, offense in win over Rams

CHICAGO — After Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked and fumbled at his own 16-yard line, he was given the best field position of the day and the Chicago Bears’ offense went old fashioned.

A week after a disastrous goal-line series in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts that featured repeated shotgun misses, the Bears used their leading I-formation rusher to score their first touchdown in a 24-18 win to score the Los Angeles Rams.

With three tight ends on the field and backup center Doug Kramer Jr. at fullback, Bears’ 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back Roschon Johnson made an easy 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter his way into the end zone.

This was more than an ode to the ground-and-pound attack that has defined the Bears franchise for decades. This was the part of the Bears’ offensive identity that had been missing since the start of the season. After boasting the No. 2 rushing offense in 2023 (141.1 yards per game), Chicago failed to establish an effective rushing attack in its first three games, ranking just ahead of the dead-last Las Vegas Raiders with fewer than 73 Rushing yards per game game.

The burden once carried by former Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been passed on to Chicago’s backstable, led by D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert and Johnson.

For three games, the Bears struggled to find a running back they could consistently lean on. Against the Rams, that part of Chicago’s offense had a breakthrough, rushing for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts.

“It’s something we’ve been really good at the last couple years,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I’m sure it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for (offensive coordinator) Shane (Waldron), obviously because of the running game we’ve had the last couple seasons. I think we’ll find our way with it.”

Over the course of the week, Bears coaches and players openly discussed issues playing out on offense as the team got off to a 1-2 start. Veterans like tight end Marcedes Lewis implored coaches during a meeting to maintain a higher standard of accountability, while Waldron and coach Matt Eberflus discussed how to ensure they perform in situations that best utilize their strengths. relies on the right players.

Johnson’s downhill rushing skills made him the Bears’ best fit to convert at the goal line, while Swift, whose slow start to the season was a sore point, found his groove when the Bears moved him into space.

Swift, whom the Bears signed to a three-year, $24 million contract in March, had 114 total yards and an average of 1.8 yards per carry in three weeks. Against the Rams, the Pro Bowler totaled 16 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown while catching all seven targets for 72 yards.

“It means a lot to me, but I know who I am,” Swift said. “I know who I am, I know what I can do and I know what God has instilled in me. If I keep that mentality every time I go to work, I know I’ll be fine.”

According to ESPN Research, Swift gained 74 of his 93 rushing yards before contact (4.6 yards before contact per rush), a significant increase from the 0.78 yards before contact per rush average in Weeks 1-3.

The difference one week made was felt throughout the offense.

“It opens up everyone else,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “Because he’s just as dynamic as he is in the running and passing game, when he gets out in the passing game and sneaks out of the backfield and is open all by himself, he can go the distance.”

Swift did this on his game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter, giving the Bears a 24-15 lead. After a handoff from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Swift danced around a defender at the line of scrimmage before bursting into the open field and running untouched 36 yards into the end zone.

It was the longest rushing touchdown the Bears had recorded since Week 18 of the 2022 season (42 yards by Velus Jones Jr.).