The NFL season is an evolving state of affairs, and week 9 finds your 4-3 Chicago Bears right back in the crosshairs of a .500 season with the dream of playoff football seemingly slipping through their
grasp. Or, right back at the front of the pack in terms of playoff odds.
In this weekly series, I’ll be featuring one player from each team on each side of the ball who I believe to be integral to their respective team’s success. It’s not always about the quarterback or superstar defensive players like Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett. Importance is all relative, and while the “star” players are obviously important each week, this series will also highlight some of the other guys.
Because let’s face it, often, the unsung players are just as critical to the team’s success.
Here are the players that I will be keyed in on in this one.
Let’s get started with the Chicago Bears!
Offense: Kyle Monangai, RB
With starter D’Andre Swift officially ruled OUT on Friday, the rookie from Rutgers will get his first career professional start and will be relied upon to sustain the run game. Monangai has seen more playing time since the Bye week, resulting in his first game over 50 yards on the ground and his first TD. Monangai averaged 42% of snaps post-Bye and 28% before the Bye. On the season, #25 has totaled 42 carries for 186 yards and a score with a 4.4 yard average to go along with 6 catches on 9 targets for another 61 scoreless yards through the air.
With Swift missing his first game of the season, I not only expect Monangai to nearly double his season high snap percentage, but I also expect him to get his first career 100-yard game and find the endzone once again. The Bengals are allowing a league-high 151.9 rushing yards per game to their opponents and 10 rushing TDs in their 8 games this season. If Monangai can indeed have himself a breakout game, the Bears’ offense should stay in rhythm, control the clock, and thus win the time of possession battle and provide fewer opportunities for the Bengals to put up points. If Monangai is somehow shut down, then it could come down to a shootout in Cincy, which would minimize the room for error and once again come down to the wire. A big game from Chicago’s 7th round draft pick will go a long way this week.
Defense: Austin Booker, DE
The long awaited return of second year pro and preseason hero Austin Booker is upon us. Will he provide the much needed spark to Chicago’s pass rush or will he fail to make an impact like all of the other defensive ends not named Montez Sweat? That question will be key this week in what is expected to be a high-scoring affair.
Head Coach Ben Johnson spoke on the lack of a pass rush earlier in the week so there should be ample opportunities for Booker to get after the QB, whomever it ends up being in Cincinnati. Be it Joe Flacco with an ailing shoulder or Jake Browning with ailing accuracy, getting after the quarterback is a must to slow down the potent Bengals passing offense. Need a little extra spice for this game? With the trade deadline looming Ryan Poles could be waiting to see just how effective Booker is in his return from injury before swinging a deal for an Edge rusher. Either way, all eyes will be on #94 in Ohio.
Cincinnati Bengals
Offense: Ja’Marr Chase, WR
With an astronomical 18 targets per game since Joe Flacco has become the starting QB in Cincy, All-Pro Ja’Marr Chase has wisely been the focal point for the high-powered Bengals offense, averaging 30 points per game in that timeframe. The aforementioned Austin Booker will be integral in slowing this duo down, but so will the return of Tyrique Stevenson at CB. However, Chase is the type of future Hall of Fame talent that can only hope to be contained as opposed to stopped altogether. As long as Chicago can limit him to under 160 yards receiving, the Bears should have a chance.
In his eight (!) games over 160 yards, the Bengals have only lost twice and both losses came against the MVP type performances of Lamar Jackson and the rival Baltimore Ravens. Does Caleb Williams have the talent, coaching and system to put up 4 or more TDs in a game to out-duel Chase and the Bengals? Maybe, but Chicago’s chances will be much greater if they limit the explosives from the 4-time Pro Bowler. I will specifically be watching to the “extra-curricular” activities between Chase and Rique, Chase and newly signed CJ Gardner-Johnson and Chase and Jaquan Brisker. The trio has already injected some juice to the defense this week, but Chase has historically been a player you want to avoid riling up. We will soon find out.
Sure, I considered Tee Higgins or Chase Brown here, but Ja’Marr is the type of player who can single-handedly dominate a game and lead his team to the win. The Bears need to slow him down.
Defense: Demetrius Knight, LB
Not only does the rookie 2nd rounder out of Georgia Tech lead the Bengals in both solo and total tackles this season, he also has more solo tackles (35) than any other rookie from his 2025 draft class thus far. Suffice it to say, the former Yellow Jacket has a nose for the football and can ruin an offense’s plans at any point. As Bears fans saw last week against Roquan Smith, who consistently made plays sniffing out runs, screens, and chasing down ball-carriers for little to no yardage after the catch, a versatile and heady LB with speed to burn can thwart the Bears’ plans on offense.
Add this to the fact that the Bears will be without their starting RB, and instead, rookie Kyle Monangai will make his first career start at RB for the Bears, and Knight could be even more impactful. If Chicago’s offense can move the chains and minimize said impact of the rookie tackling machine, we should absolutely see plenty of points on the board. If he wrecks the game like Roquan did a week ago, and Cincy should come out on top.
What about you? Which players on both sides will you be keying on in Cincinnati? Let us know in the comments!
Recap from Week 8:
Bears O – Colston Loveland, TE: 3 catches for 38 yards on 5 targets.
Bears D – Andrew Billings, DT: Only 1 tackle. One.
Baltimore O – Derrick Henry, RB: 21 carries for 71 yards and 2 TD’s.
Baltimore D – Roquan Smith, LB: 12 total tackles, 7 solo.
Remember, there’s a near-zero chance of a Bears win when all four players perform in a way that favors the opponent. Here, we keep track of weeks past to see how things unfolded:
Week 1: Loveland, Jarrett, Mason, Metellus – Vikes owned 75% this week. Perhaps 100%. L
Week 2: Jackson, Edmunds, Gibbs, Branch – Again, we were owned in 75% this week, maybe 100%. L
Week 3: Moore, Dexter Sr., Pickens, Sanborn – Finally, we dominated in all phases. At least 75% in our favor. W
Week 4: Swift, Brisker, Jeanty, Chinn – I’d say we went 2-2 here and barely squeaked away with the win. W
Week 6: Benedet, Spidey, Deebo, Payne – Split at a minimum but I say 75% in our favor. W
Week 7: Burden, Byard, Shaheed, Werner – Easily secured 3/4 of these for the win that was not as close as score would indicate. W
Week 8: Loveland, Billings, Henry, Roquan – 0/4 – L
Earlier this week, we asked you guys to give your most important Bear for the game in our Reacts survey question, and you went with Swift. The poll was shared before we knew his game status (OUT), but this shows just how important fans feel the rushing attack will be this week.
Also, showing just how critical fans think the run game is against the Bengals is voting Chicago’s young left tackle at number two. I’d also like to see him have a good game in pass pro, but if this is a ground-and-pound game, then let’s see Theo Benedet get after it!
SB Nation Reacts is a survey of fans across the NFL, and throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bears fans and fans across the country. Sign up right here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
