The Chicago Bears have turned the page and are looking ahead to Week 2. They are going to travel to play the Detroit Lions in another NFC North tilt and will be Ben Johnson's first return to Detroit.
Following his coaching debut, Johnson is already looking to make some tweaks in the backfield and wants to get rookie RB Kyle Monangai the ball more going forward after he logged just nine snaps in Week 1.
On Wednesday, Johnson said, "I need to call more runs. We probably were at, what, under 20 for called runs in the game. I need to call more so that we get him in the game a little bit more. That's something EB and I have talked about, making sure he has more carries going forward."
And with Johnson openly saying this, that should have D'Andre Swift looking over his shoulder.
Ben Johnson Wants to Get Kyle Monangai More Involved
The Bears' running back room has been slammed with injuries. Roschon Johnson was inactive in Week 1 with a foot injury, and Travis Homer is on IR with a calf injury.
That led to Monangai being bumped up the depth chart after a successful summer that caught the attention of the coaching staff. In his nine snaps, he had one reception for 11 yards and didn't get to log a single carry.
Chicago had 20 rushing plays in Week 1, while Caleb Williams scrambled for 58 yards on six carries in the outing. Swift led the way with 17 carries, and DJ Moore got three himself. While Moore may not get carries in each game, Johnson made it known that he wants to get Monangai more involved. And his involvement will come at the detriment of Swift.
That may not be what he wants to hear, as each RB wants to be the workhorse in the backfield. Regardless, Swift shouldn't expect that in a Johnson-led offense. Last season in Detroit, the Lions ranked third in the league in carries (534) and sixth in rushing yards (2,488). Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery both had 185-plus carries in 2024 as well.
Johnson wants to have a balanced split in the backfield, and that mindset won't change. As the season goes on, Monangai is a player that fans should expect to see more of. And with the rookie expected to be on the field more, Swift will have to shift in his reps and production.