‘Grind that meat’: Monangai, Bears run game subdue the Jets

After the New York Jets scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 11 points, they kicked back to the Chicago Bears with 9 minutes, 16 seconds remaining Sunday. Conceivably, a defensive stop there would have led to a Bears punt and made for a potentially intriguing game down the stretch.

Bears coach Ben Johnson had other ideas.

“Grind that meat, man,” tight end Colston Loveland said.

Grind, they did. The Bears drove 76 yards in 18 plays, eating up all 9:16 of remaining game time to seal a 23-12 win over the Jets at Soldier Field. Running back Kyle Monangai had nine of his career-high 31 touches on the final possession.

“That’s why we go so hard in training camp,” Monangai said. “For times like that, to put the game away. That’s how we want it. Exhaustion will come after the fact. In that moment we’re just trying to put the game away.”

Monangai finished with 146 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries plus one catch for 4 yards. He powered the Bears offense for most of the second half. Starting running back D’Andre Swift lost a fumble midway through the third quarter and never saw the field again.

Johnson said he didn’t realize how many touches he gave Monangai until he looked at the stat sheet in his office after the game.

“He ran really hard,” Johnson said. “He found some creases and turned on the gas. I saw one really good stiff-arm there as well.

“When you see a guy running like that, you want to feed him as the play caller. And I do think it elevates all those guys out there and gives them a spark as well, the guys blocking for him. It was good to see. We needed that.”

Johnson noted that Swift was not injured and that his absence late in the game was a coach’s decision.

With Tyson Bagent playing quarterback in place of an injured Caleb Williams, the Bears totaled 492 yards of offense, including 232 on the ground. They entered Week 4 with the NFL’s No. 1 running game, and it looked like it.

The Bears set a franchise record, according to Stathead, with 34 first downs. They possessed the ball for 42:45. Excluding overtime games, it was their highest time of possession since a Nov. 20, 1994, win over the Detroit Lions.

Especially during that final nine-minute drive by the offense, the defense — quite literally — had nothing to do.

“It’s kind of wild,” linebacker Devin Bush said. “Probably one of the easiest NFL games I’ve ever played in. I’m not sore at all.”

Bush joked that there were stretches of the game that were boring for the defenders, who had to sit idly on the bench while Monangai and the offense went to work.

“I got bored a couple times,” Bush said. “Had to stay warm just in case. I know we had a couple sudden-change moments (because of two Bears turnovers). I feel like that got the defense going. We got the opportunity to get put in situations where we’ve got to step up and play to our standard.”

The defense easily and efficiently silenced the Jets offense, which totaled 157 yards and seven first downs and went 0-for-7 on third down.

After giving up 37 points in a Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers, the Bears defense hasn’t allowed more than 12 points in the three weeks since. Coordinator Dennis Allen’s group didn’t have a takeaway Sunday, and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo said the defense is far from satisfied with the recent success.

“The job’s not done,” Odeyingbo said. “This league is like: What have you done for me lately? If you put on a bad week next week, then it won’t feel so good.”

The Jets had been playing better over the first three weeks than they did last season. This was no cakewalk for the Bears, especially behind a backup quarterback.

“That’s a tough front to run the ball against,” Johnson said. “They’ve got some big bodies.”

Jets defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat is listed at 6-foot-4 and 366 pounds. Harrison Phillips is 6-3, 307, and Jowon Briggs is 6-1, 313. Edge rusher David Bailey was the No. 2 draft pick in April.

And the Bears offensive line worked them.

A game like Sunday’s “says we can take the game over,” said left tackle Theo Benedet, who started in place of the injured Braxton Jones.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Monangai ran for 115 of his yards to the right, the side with right tackle Darnell Wright and right guard Jonah Jackson.

“He’s strong every time he touches the rock,” Wright said of Monangai. “He’s fast, he’s smart, he’s strong. He works his ass off.”

Early in the game, the Bears had four opportunities to punch in the ball from the 1-yard line. Swift had two apparent touchdowns reversed upon review on the opening drive. The second one came on fourth-and-goal and resulted in a turnover on downs.

Late in the first quarter, Monangai finally broke through on fourth-and-goal from the 1 for the game’s first touchdown.

“You’ve got to get the ball across the goal line,” Monangai said. “It really shouldn’t have taken me that many plays. O-line did a great job. … I’m gonna scrap for every yard I can and — especially in those got-to-have-it situations, goal line, red zone — get the ball across the goal line.”

Monangai’s second touchdown came on a 5-yard run in the third quarter. Then he helped ice the game with the nine-minute drive before exiting late with a thumb injury. Monangai said he would get his thumb evaluated further on Monday.

The Bears ran 89 offensive plays to 32 for the Jets. Per Stathead, it was the Bears’ most plays since Oct. 31, 1999.

“Our style of play showed up,” Johnson said.

Or as Loveland put it, grind that meat.