Eberflus says Bears RB Montgomery is day-to-day with ankle injury

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus clarified on Monday that running back David Montgomery's injury is indeed an ankle injury. Montgomery remains day-to-day, according to Eberflus.

The injury had previously been described as a knee/ankle injury by the team. Eberflus wouldn't comment on whether the Bears expected Montgomery to go to injured reserve.

"We'll see what happens on Wednesday [in practice] and going forward from there," Eberflus said.

Montgomery appeared to have his leg rolled up on by a Texans defender in Sunday's first quarter. He was down on the field for several minutes but did walk off the field on his own.

Running back Khalil Herbert ran for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries after Montgomery left the game. The Bears as a team ran for 281 total yards in the 23-20 win at Soldier Field.

The fact that Eberflus is calling Montgomery day-to-day would seem to indicate that the running back isn't going to IR, which would require a four-week absence.

Herbert proved last year that he could be a solid option when Montgomery wasn't available, and he did that yet again on Sunday. The Bears have two talented running backs, so they could likely afford to be cautious with Montgomery following the injury.

Patrick starts over Jenkins:

Bears linemen Lucas Patrick and Teven Jenkins continued to share snaps at right guard. But for the first time, Patrick earned the nod as the starter. Jenkins had started the previous two games at right guard.

In Sunday's win over the Texans, Patrick played 65% of offensive snaps, while Jenkins played 35%.

Eberflus said the decision to start Patrick over Jenkins was based off what the team saw in practice last week.

"We thought that Lucas did a good job of practicing," Eberflus said. "He was solid in his practice. Teven did a nice job on Thursday and Friday, but needs to have a better Wednesday for him to step into that role."

Mooney getting extra work:

After the game Sunday, receiver Darnell Mooney went back out onto the field and caught passes off the JUGS machine in full uniform and pads.

"That's the kind of player he is," Eberflus said. "He wants to figure it out. He's going to figure it out, and man, he's a worker. So when you have the talent and you've got the work ethic and the work habits behind that, man, that's a good combination to have."

Mooney caught 2 passes for 23 yards on Sunday. He was targeted 6 times in the passing game and had one bad drop.

In three games, Mooney has 4 catches for 27 yards. He totaled 1,055 receiving yards last season.