Ben Johnson admits Chicago Bears superpower was nerfed vs. Vikings

During the Chicago Bears’ Week 1 explosion, their ground game led the way with a historic 291 yards and six touchdowns. But that wasn’t the case in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, as the Bears struggled to stay consistent running the ball in their 9-3 loss.

Overall, Chicago ran for 134 yards on their 31 carries. Both D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai failed to eclipse 50 yards rushing. The Bears averaged 4.3 yards per touch, but that was largely carried by quarterback Williams netting 42 yards on five carries before going down with a worrying injury.

For all the flash of Johnson’s offense, is is predicated on a strong run game. The Bears continuously tried to establish the ground game, to varying degrees of success. If Williams is forced to miss a significant amount of time, the Bears will only be running the ball more.

Johnson still believes in Swift, Monangai and the blockers in front of them. But he wanted to see more from them against the Vikings.

Chicago Bears’ rushing attack loses bite

There were still flashes of what Johnson knows the Bears’ rushing attack can be. Monangai had a long run of 15 while Swift broke off an 12-yarder. Williams even had an 18-yard run. But it is Chicago’s consistency that the head coach knows must be improved, via Johnson’s postgame press conference.

“It felt like the running game in general was a little but sporadic throughout that game,” Johnson said. “Out of halftime it was a little bit better, other parts of the game it was a bit more challenging to get that going. When I looked at it at halftime I think the backs were averaging two yards a carry.”

“Obviously not something we want to hang our hat on,” he continued. “We’ll look at it and find out why exactly. I was proud of how they competed in the second half, gave us some opportunities.”

Johnson will continue to rely on Swift and Monangai. But the Bears can’t afford any more duds, especially during Williams’ absence.

The post Ben Johnson admits Chicago Bears superpower was nerfed vs. Vikings appeared first on ChiCitySports.