For the first seven weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the Chicago Bears had the top-ranked rushing offense. Ironically, they were recently passed up by their Week 9 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had 324 yards in Week 8, and are now ranked No. 2 heading into Sunday night.
The Bears averaging 150 rushing yards per game isn't a huge disappointment, but there's been a noticeable decline in a run game that was averaging nearly 200 rushing yards per game after Week 4 with the duo of D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. But Monangai has missed the last four games, and the run game has taken a noticeable dip.
In Weeks 1-4, the Bears averaged 196 rushing yards per game eclipsing 230 yards twice and hitting 120+ in each game. In Weeks 5-8, Chicago averaged just
105 yards per game, falling short of 100 yards in two games before bouncing back with 116 and 126 yards in their last two games.
"It's inconsistent," said head coach Ben Johnson of the run game. "I know we started off hot early in the year just being able to run the football, but we have faced some tough opponents, and it's been a little bit spotty. We stick with it, though … I know first-half rushing hasn't been as effective as second-half rushing. That's one of those things that I know that eventually we will break though. We're too good up front not to do that. Last week, that's tough sledding. I think 'Swifty' (D'Andre Swift) only averaged 2.7, 2.9, whatever that was. The fortunate thing is we weren't really having negative runs. They were twos and threes and those were hard yards."
Johnson said the team is committed to fixing the run game's dip in proaction, and getting back Monangai would certainly be a huge boost.
"It is something we're committed to, and we put a lot of time and effort into this," Johnson said. "Those guys in the O-line room are really well coached. Our tight ends are doing a great job blocking in the running game. If we get Monangai back, I think that'll be a shot in the arm whenever that's the case. But I think Swifty's doing a great job right now seeing the little crease and turning on the gas. It goes with the week. Obviously, it's a huge point of emphasis for us."
The Bears will face the second-best run defense in the NFL against the Buccaneers, who are allowing an average 80 rushing yards per game. But Chicago did just face the No. 6 run defense in the Seattle Seahawks, who were allowing an average 89 yards per game, and the Bears put up 126 rushing yards on them, which is their most without Monangai this season.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson gets brutally honest about Bears run game in recent weeks
