Swift leads monster Bears running game in win over Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bears running back D’Andre Swift celebrated his new contract extension with a career-best three rushing touchdowns during Sunday’s 59-37 season-opening blowout of the Carolina Panthers.
But for someone who led all rushers with 124 yards on 18 carries, he was in no mood to take a victory lap or prove to naysayers that he’s worth the three-year, $33.75 million deal that the Bears made official Saturday.
“In my mind, I feel like I’m just getting started, man,” Swift said after the game at Bank of America Stadium. “I’m just grateful to keep going with these guys. My mindset wasn’t going to change whether it was something done (before the season) or not.”
Coach Ben Johnson did the crowing for him.
“He’s had a good week, huh?” Johnson said. “He earned it, every step of it. We really value what he brings to the table.
“He’s had a great spring, a great training camp, so I don’t think anybody in our building is surprised that he’s out of the gate in a strong fashion.”
Swift added: “I take a lot of pride in making sure my coaches are able to trust me when I’m out there. So I don’t take nothing for granted.”
He did allow himself to relish the three totes to the end zone.
“(Johnson) knows every time I touch the ball, I’m looking to score,” Swift said. “Just trying to continue to get that trust from him. That’s big for me.”
Swift was one-third of a dominant day on the ground for the Bears in which the running game outpaced the passing offense 291 yards to 269 and six touchdowns to two.
No. 2 running back Kyle Monangai had 10 carries for 100 yards — punctuated by a 61-yard touchdown — and quarterback Caleb Williams scrambled for 65 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears averaged 7.5 yards on their 39 rushes.
It’s only the third time since at least 1950 that an NFL team has eclipsed 200 rushing yards and scored six times on the ground in a single game. The New Orleans Saints did it in 2017 and 2020.
Wide receiver Kalif Raymond credited the offensive line.
“Football is won and lost a lot of times in the trenches,” he said. “It’s a testament to how hard those guys work.”
Swift’s signature play came with 8 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first quarter. He burst through the line, spun off a defender and weaved his way through traffic for 32 yards to the Carolina 13-yard line.
It was a message that the Panthers defense was in for a long day.
Monangai only added to their misery. His career-best 61-yard score up the middle put the Bears up 45-31 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Panthers never really threatened again.
Swift said he was thinking during Monangai’s run: “Don’t get caught. Go.”
“Them guys, the receivers and the O-line, did a great job on that play allowing Kyle to go ahead and do what he had to do,” Swift added.
Wide receiver Jahdae Walker was singled out by Johnson and several teammates as one of the key blockers on Monangai’s score.
After Monangai burst through the initial contact, Panthers linebacker Princely Umanmielen was closing in about 15 yards downfield. Walker, who was running stride for stride with Monangai, turned and saw Umanmielen in hot pursuit, then slowed up and “butt-blocked” him.
That’s how his coach put it — and the reason it was his favorite play.
“I see things like Jahdae out in front, and he’s over here butt-blocking and trying to spring him loose, that’s the stuff that gets me excited,” Johnson said. “When I see the little guys block and I see the O-line getting around the ball and pushing the pile, that’s the stuff that gets me going.”
It was also Williams’ favorite play, for how much it meant at the time.
The Bears found themselves in a seesaw battle with the Panthers, tied at 31 midway through the third quarter. Swift’s 1-yard touchdown put the Bears up 38-31, but the Panthers drove to the Bears 39.
They failed to convert on fourth down, and Monangai made them pay for their gamble on the next play.
“It was a big moment for us,” Williams said. “It was a momentum swinger. That’s a crushing thing when you’re in that situation, you’re at midfield and you get a downhill run that goes for (61).”