The Chicago Bears face the Dallas Cowboys in Matt Eberflus's return to Soldier Field on Sunday. This game is very winnable for Chicago. Dallas, which gave up 37 points to the New York Giants last week, has one of the worst defenses in the league. Unfortunately, the Bears' defense hasn't looked much better, allowing 73 points in the last five quarters.
With how bad each respective defense has been, this could be a high-scoring game. One way for Chicago to mitigate the Cowboys' offense is by winning the time of possession battle. The easiest way to do that is by running the ball, which hasn't come easily for the Bears in the first two weeks.
That said, veteran running back D'Andre Swift is dealing with a quad injury. Swift's quad injury has limited his participation in every practice this week, meaning he is questionable for the game on Sunday. Thus, this leaves the door open for rookie running back Kyle Monangai to finally make an impact.
Kyle Monangai Could Finally be Given a Chance to Prove Himself Sunday
Bears fans have been begging for Ben Johnson to use Monangai in a meaningful way since Week 1. The rookie saw no carries in the season opener because they all went to Swift. Although he did record seven carries last week, the majority of them happened in garbage time.
This upset Bears fans since Monangai's power could have been used to pick up a single yard on third or fourth down in the second quarter. Instead, Johnson chose to call back-to-back quarterback sneaks with Caleb Williams.
Furthermore, most fans would just prefer to see the rookie over Swift. Though Swift has had a few powerful runs this season, that's not his forte. Considering his speed has yet to pay dividends this year, getting the rookie involved just makes sense.
Despite there being a chance that Swift still plays, the quad injury will likely limit him. Therefore, no matter what, Monangai should see more action on Sunday. The 23-year-old must take advantage of these reps and show Johnson why he deserves more touches going forward.
If he is able to accomplish this, Bears fans will be ecstatic. However, it will be a slight uphill battle with the Cowboys' addition of Kenny Clark to their run defense. Even with Clark, Dallas has allowed 242 rushing yards in two games, so if there's any time for Chicago to get a rushing game going, it's this week.