Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift has been leading the way for the Chicago Bears on the ground through the first three weeks of the season. So, it was a bit of a surprise to see Swift end up with just 36% of the offensive snaps in the Bears' Week 4 win over the New York Jets. His season-low before that was 57%.
Head coach Ben Johnson made the reason clear, Swift had an egregious fumble, and the team is not going to tolerate that.
Chicago Bears head coach explains D’Andre Swift benching
Johnson noted that while this was the second time Swift fumbled this season, he did not feel a need to punish him for the first one. On the other hand, Swift deserved blame for his Week 4 fumble, and he did not see the field after that.
"It's very uncharacteristic,” said Johnson on Swift’s issues. “I give Minnesota credit; that's what they do, conscious of the ball and looking to punch it out. But I think the one last week was egregious. That's one we can't have. There are too many times where the ball is getting away from our body, and he knows that. He takes a lot of pride in it, which is why it's never been an issue over his career. We just have to tighten that up, and he'll be just fine moving forward."
Swift already has two fumbles this season. His career-high is three, and that was back in 2023. He fumbled the ball twice under Johnson last year, so he already matched his season total from 2025.
With Swift out, the team leaned into second-year running back Kyle Monangai, and he thrived. Monangai had 30 rushing attempts for 146 yards. Funnily enough, he has been more efficient than Swift this season.
Swift has 69 rushes for 311 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt. He has a 47.8% success rate. Meanwhile, Monangai has 60 rushes for 324 yards. He is averaging 5.4 yards per attempt and has a 51.7% success rate.
Swift is still efficient, but Monangai has been far above average so far this season. It will be interesting to see if the fumbling and the efficiency of Monangai will begin to cause a shift.
Based on Johnson's quote, they are going to continue to ride Swift. They see the fumble as uncharacteristic, and they will trust him again. However, if the fumbles continue, Monangai is too good to keep on the bench.
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