Considering the struggles of the Chicago Bears' run game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, there isn't any question as to the importance of Kyle Monangai to the rushing attack. But just in case, there are a number of advanced stats to help really drive it home.
Monangai's absence wasn't remotely the sole reason that the Bears were unable to get things moving against the Packers. Though one has to imagine they might've been a bit better off than the 81 carries on 24 carries they mustered without him. Importantly, that's not necessarily the fault of D'Andre Swift, whose skill set differs from his backfield running mate. In fact, it's those advanced stats that help to illustrate exactly what was missing from the team's rush attack in his absence.
The 146 yards that Monangai was able to generate on the ground the previous week against the New York Jets, in addition to his Week 1 outburst alongside Swift, still has him ninth in the league in rushing yards even having sat out Sunday's game. His 324 yards trail Swift by 30 within that top 10 standing. Where he really starts to separate from Swift, though, is what happens in matters of expected yards and yards after contact.
Monangai's total yards over expected sit at +66, which ranks seventh in the league. That's good for +1.2 per attempt, which ranks fifth in the league. His rush EPA, at +3.7, also sits fifth among qualifying running backs. In terms of yards after contact per carry, Monangai's 4.5 is tied for second in the league behind only Atlanta's Bijan Robinson among qualifiers. But wait, there's more.
In terms of EPA per rush attempt, Monangai is at +0.06 behind only Robinson (+0.07) and Kansas City's Kenneth Walker (+0.13). His success rate sits at 40.0 percent, which ranks 21st among the group. Interestingly, success rate is the only of these stats in which Swift outranks Monangai. But as the bruiser in the tandem, just about everything else lines up to illustrate his value quite clearly even over Swift (who, again, has a different skill set even if technically capable of working inside).
Even within the complicated nature of advanced stats, the impact of Kyle Monangai itself is not complex. He's the power rusher, capable of exceeding his expected yards and, generally, keeping the offense on schedule. It's the perfect compliment for what D'Andre Swift offers and, without Monangai, yards become that much more difficult to come by. If it wasn't evident on Sunday, it certainly is on the stat sheet.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Advanced stats illustrate Kyle Monangai's importance to Bears' offense
