Kyle Monangai Carries the Bears' Offense in Dominant Win Over Jets

CHICAGO -- Kyle Monangai would not be denied. 

The Chicago Bears' offense faced a fourth-and-goal on the New York Jets 1-yard line towards the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Tyson Bagent handed off the ball to the 5-foot-8, 207-pound running back and the Jets' 6-foot-1, 313-pound defensive lineman Jowon Briggs initiated contact with Monangai one yard shy of the end zone. Monangai kept his balance and spun his way into the end zone. 

"I mean you got to get the ball across the goal line," Monangai said. "It really shouldn't have taken me that many plays. O-line did a great job. Goal line you know there is going to be an extra guy that you got to beat. I got to get it on the play before that, but, yeah, I'm going to scrap for every yard I can, especially in those got-to-have-it situations, goal line, red zone whatever it is. Get the ball across the goal line." 

Monangai finished with a game-high 30 carries for 146 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 23-12 win over the Jets. His 30 rushing attempts were a new career high. The only other time he reached that mark was in his final college game at Rutgers, when he rushed 31 times for 129 yards and a touchdown against Michigan State. 

When asked how it felt to carry the ball that many times, Monangai said, "I love it. I love it."

He did say that running backs coach Eric Studesville did check up on Monangai during the game, but he reassured his coach that he was good. Even with the heavy workload, winning cures all. 

"How can you feel any other way, but great," Monangai said. 

Bears head coach Ben Johnson had nothing but praise for how Monangai ran the ball against a Jets defensive front that has some talented defensive lineman and linebackers.

“He ran hard, yeah, he ran really hard," Johnson said. "He found some creases and turned on the gas. I thought I saw one really, really good stiff arm there as well. When you see a guy running like that, you want to feed him as the play caller. And I do think it elevates all of those guys out there and gives them a spark as well, the guy's blocking for him. And it was good to see, we needed that.”

Monangai left the game late in the fourth quarter with a thumb injury, and the team will find out the severity on Monday.

D'Andre Swift also ran for 58 yards on 15 carries to help the Bears finish with 232 rushing on 54 attempts.

According to the Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, "Swift and Monangai are the first teammates in team history to each have 300+ rushing yards through the first two weeks in the season. They're the first duo since Walter Payton and Roland Harper in 1978 to each have 200+ yards int he first four games."

The Bears finished with 34 first downs in the game. The Jets ran 32 plays, highlighting the dominance on the day from the Bears' rushing offense. The Bears also maintained possession for 42:45 in the Week 4 win.

On the Bears' final drive of the game, the held the ball for 9 minutes and 16 seconds, gaining 76 yards on 18 plays to close out the game. Monangai carried the ball eight plays on that drive. He credits those long summer days in training camp and the move-the-ball drills for helping prepare him for that moment. 

Johnson shared his thoughts about that final drive and what it represents about his team.

“Ton of pride," Johnson said. "I think that's two weeks in a row we were able to find a way to finish with it. And I think our guys understand how important that is for us. We want that to be what we're about. And so it's good, it's a good thing.”