The outside world is counting out the Chicago Bears in the Monday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. D'Andre Swift sees this Week 3 challenge as a big-time opportunity.
After an explosive Week 1 performance against the Carolina Panthers, D'Andre Swift saw firsthand the NFL's week-to-week unpredictability.
Swift was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week for his 124 rushing yards and career-high three touchdowns in the Chicago Bears' 59-37 road win over the Panthers. However, that production drastically dipped in the 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores limited Swift to just 45 rushing yards on 16 carries. On the Bears' first drive of the second half, Swift fumbled on the Vikings' 1-yard line, taking away Chicago's momentum after a promising drive.
Swift spoke with reporters in the locker room on Friday and shared what he believes went wrong in Week 2.
"I feel like I missed a couple out there, but a different style of defense that was kind of getting thrown at us," Swift said. "Another opportunity to make it right."
Minnesota's defense presents a drastically different challenge than Philadelphia's. Under Flores, the Vikings lead the NFL with a 72.4% blitz rate, while the Eagles rank near the bottom at 25th with just 20.7%
If Philadelphia decides to adopt Flores' heavy-blitz scheme to limit Chicago's rushing attack, Swift welcomes the challenge, issuing a simple response: "Bring it on."
The Bears will need their run game to revert back to the dominant version that finished with 291 yards against the Panthers in Week 1. In the matchup between the Bears and Eagles on Black Friday last season, Chicago ran for 281 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-15 win.
Swift and backup running back Kyle Monangai each ran for more than 100 yards and had a touchdown in that game. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is going to want to rebound from that performance, and Swift understands the challenge that Philadelphia will present on Monday night.
"One that’s sound, he always (has) done a great job of (getting) guys playing for each other, and they all seem to be on one accord," Swift said. "Kind of keep it simple like that with my answer."
Unlike that first primetime matchup last season, quarterback Caleb Williams is likely going to miss this upcoming game with a hamstring injury he sustained in the Week 2 loss to the Vikings. Williams missed three straight practices, while backup Tyson Bagent returned to practice for the first time this week on Saturday, meaning veteran 38-year-old Case Keenum may start on Monday night.
Given the Bears' circumstances, Johnson knows that many people have written off the Bears this week. Like his head coach, Swift sees a great opportunity for the team in this primetime matchup.
"Anybody outside this building’s opinion, respectfully, doesn't really matter," Swift said. "We know the guys we have in this building. Next-man-up mentality. Everybody here is excited about the opportunity because it's the next opportunity. So whoever’s counting us out, it’s on them."
