Can the Bears Establish the Run in Week 9 Matchup vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

The Chicago Bears are now longer leading the NFL in rushing yards. That title belongs to their Week 9 opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

In the Buccaneers' 16-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons last week, Tampa Bay ran for 324 rushing yards and quarterback Baker Mayfield didn't complete any passes. The Buccaneers now lead the league with 1,349 rushing yards, and the Chicago Bears are second (1,206 yards). 

Chicago's rushing attack averaged 196.3 yards per game in the first four week of the season. Since the Bears ran for 232 yards in the 23-13 win over the New York Jets in Week 4, the run game hasn't been the same. These last four games the offense has averaged just 105.3 yards per game. 

Running back D'Andre Swift has been limited to just 234 rushing yards but has seven touchdowns in the last four games. 

One of the main factors for the dip in the run game is losing Kyle Monangai to a thumb/toe injury that he sustained in the Jets game, which has sidelined him for the last four weeks.

Monangai was a limited participant in Friday's practice and is officially listed as questionable for the Sunday night matchup at Soldier Field. The Bears do have a Week 10 bye, so it wouldn't be shocking if the team elects to keep him out on Sunday to ensure he's healthy for the back half of the season. 

The former seventh-round pick has 60 carries for 324 yards and three touchdowns on the season, so if he doesn't play against the Buccaneers, the Bears will obviously miss a productive part of their rushing attack against one of the NFL's best defenses at stopping the ground game.  

The Buccaneers have allowed just 640 rushing yards through eight games, the second-fewest in the league just behind the San Francisco 49ers' 623 rushing yards allowed in seven games. 

Tampa Bay has only allowed one team this season to rush for 100 yards. In the team's 33-27 loss to the Bengals, Cincinnati rushed for 106 total yards. Falcons running back Bijan Robinson ran for 76 yards, the season-high allowed from the Buccaneers defense. 

Two-time Pro Bowler Vita Vea anchors the middle of the defense with his 6-foot-4, 347-pound frame. Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter leads the team with his 68 total tackles. 

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles' defense also leads the league with 16 total tackles, including an NFL high 12 interceptions. Linebacker Alex Anzalone's three interceptions is tied for the second-most in the league. 

Bears head coach Ben Johnson shared what stands out about Bowles' defense during his Friday media availability.

“Chaos. I think that's what stands out. I think he's always defended the run really well, and whenever you play single high to the rate that he does, it's different than what we've seen earlier this year. A lot of these teams were playing shell and two high, and he's predominantly single high, and I think that always gives you an extra defender in the box that you've got to account for. So schematically, it's very challenging to run the ball, and then when you have the talent on the defensive line and in the linebacker crew that they have, those are tough yards to come by.

So I think it starts there, and then when he gets you off schedule in these obvious passing situations, whether it's second and long or third down, that's where he draws up all these exotics and creates a lot of issues for the quarterback. I think the linebackers are doing a great job just sniffing out pass concepts and understanding what windows to be in. He mixes up man and zone, and I think (Buccaneers S) Antoine Winfield (Jr.), he's a ball hawk back there. And then when he comes down, he'll light you up as well in the running game. So it's a good mix of talent, and then the scheme certainly is coming from all angles, so you try to be as sound as you possibly can.”