There were a lot of things that went right for the Chicago Bears in their win against the Seattle Seahawks, including running back D’Andre Swift getting three rushing touchdowns.
Swift currently has 10 rushing touchdowns, the most in the NFL through eight weeks. He has been the most reliable person on Chicago’s roster, playing on 62 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps. Especially with Kyle Monangai out the past four weeks, Swift has been a key part of the Bears' offense. Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor praised Swift for being a dependable player on offense.
“He’s reliable," Taylor said. "I mean, he’s somebody that we trust a lot in. We want to do our best to keep him as fresh as possible throughout the course of the season. There’s
certain times where it looks like he could use a breather at times and we’re ready to roll with the other guys that need to be available for him right here. Then there’s certain times where he feels fresh, he looks fresh, he’s ready to go."
Swift didn't have his best rushing performance against the Seattle Seahawks, totaling 27 carries for 69 yards, averaging 2.6 yards per carry (his lowest of the season). But Swift found plenty of success in the red zone with his three rushing touchdowns, tying his season-high.
“I think the other night you saw the production down in the red zone particularly," Taylor said. "It was a tough sled in the run game. We understood that’s what it would be really on normal down situations. We wanted to stick with it. We wanted to be able to utilize it at certain times. We wanted to stay on schedule with it. But then in the red zone, I thought those guys did a good job of making things really go, and Swifty was a big part of that. He bounced a couple runs that probably were not intended for the ball to go, and he’s able to get the edge and punch it in, which was critical for us. But he’s a guy we count on, we trust, and he’s produced for us.”
Chicago will need Swift to step up once again when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have one of the best run defenses in the NFL and held the Atlanta Falcons scoreless in their last game.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Press Taylor explains the importance of Bears RB D'Andre Swift
