Bears Film Study: How Kyle Monangai Hit a Season-Long Run vs. Bengals

With Chicago Bears football on the back burner until training camp begins in late July, I went on YouTube and saw a video from the official NFL account appear on my page. 

It was 30 minutes of Bears offensive highlights from the 2025 season. While eating lunch, I played the video. It started from the disappointing Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field and went chronologically through each game. 

Then, highlights from the Bears' 47-42 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals started to play. Coach Ben Johnson called whatever play calls he wanted to in that game and his players executed. 

There are some many great examples of offensive teach tape from that Week 9 win, but one run stood out above the rest. 

With the Bears up 34-27 in the fourth quarter, the Bears called a run for rookie Kyle Monangai -- who served as the lead back because D'Andre Swift was injured. Monangai received the toss play and gained 39 yards on the play, a season-long for the former seventh-round pick from Rutgers. 

To better understand why the play worked to perfection, let's take a look at the All-22 and uses Bobby Peters' "The 2025 Chicago Bears Complete Offensive Manual" to break down the explosive run play. 

Starting with the basics, the Bears have three wide receivers and one tight end on the field. Rome Odunze is on the left side of the formation with Durham Smythe out wide, and Olamide Zaccheaus and DJ Moore are to the right. Before the snap, Zaccheaus motions down between right tackle Darnell Wright and Moore. 

Caleb Williams is in the shotgun with Monangai to his right. It's a first-and-10 from Chicago's 44-yard line. 

According to Peters, "crack toss is a scheme that forces the ball onto the perimeter of a defense. It completements outside zone as well as other base run schemes."

The most important blocks on this play is the crack block on the end man of the line of scrimmage, which in this case is No. 97 Shemar Stewart -- the Bengals' 6-foot-5, 267 pound first-round pick from last season. Equally as important is the block from the play side tackle (Wright) who pulls and becomes the lead block "on the force/secondary support defender."

The rest of the O-line will follow similar rules to their outside zone block responsibilities. 

Rewatch how the 5-foot-8, 194-pound Zaccheaus blocks Stewart. Moore also blocks on the edge, and Wright clears out the defensive back. A wall is created, and Monangai goes untouched through the first wave of defenders and gets into the open field. 

When he plants his foot in the ground on the Bengals' 46-yard line, Monangai easily makes the safety miss and then uses a block from left tackle Theo Benedet to run for additional yardage. 

Odunze is running in front to help block and Smythe is also down field. As with many on Monangai's runs from his rookie season, he finishes the play by lowering his shoulder, which sends cornerback DJ Turner II rolling on the ground after he attempts to jump on the Bears' running back. 

The Bears needed every one of the 47 points scored to defeat the Bengals on the road, and Monangai's game-high 176 rushing yards helped Chicago come away with a victory. 

Make sure to become a member at Bears Roundtable Sports to get more film study content. It's a good way to pass the time until the Bears return to Halas Hall for training camp next month.