The Chicago Bears got back on track in Atlanta, as quarterback Caleb Williams and cornerback Kyler Gordon each returned from extended injury absences and provided the fuel on both sides of the football to defeat the Falcons in Week 6.
Unfortunately, the same script appears unlikely to play out a few days from now with running back Kyle Monangai and the New England Patriots.
Monangai has missed the past two weeks with a turf toe injury, and a lesser thumb issue, after producing a career game against the New York Jets — 146 rushing yards and two TDs on 30 carries after he replaced D’Andre Swift as the RB1 in the second half following a costly fumble.
But Monangai has not seen the field since, and both the context of the previous two weeks as well as overwhelming historical precedent across the NFL in recent years indicates he won’t play on Thursday Night Football against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on October 22.
Kyle Monangai Has Not Played, Practiced in 2 Weeks
Monangai didn’t just miss the past two games. He also sat out every single practice session across the past two weeks. Turf toes are notorious as lingering injuries and absent surgery, the best remedy is simply time to rest.
Time is something Chicago has little of ahead of their Week 7 showdown with the reigning AFC champion Patriots. However, the exact opposite is true once that contest concludes.
Chicago will play its seventh game against New England and then have 11 days off before retaking the field against the Seattle Seahawks on the November 2 edition of Monday Night Football.
Rushing Monangai back on a short week after zero practice time and following two missed games is neither the safe or prudent course. Thus, that outcome is unlikely unless the RB shows dramatic improvement over the next couple of days.
Bears’ Run Game, D’Andre Swift Have Been Considerably Less Effective Without Kyle Monangai Over Past 2 Games
Swift led the run game last season, Ben Johnson’s first as head coach, and earned a three-year extension worth nearly $34 million in September because of performance. The same was true through the first three games of this season, though Monangai was a critical contributor.
During that span, the second-year RB playing on just a $4 million deal posted exactly 10 carries in each game for a total of 178 rushing yards and one score.
Through four weeks, Monangai was firmly among the NFL’s top 10 leading rushers, but then injury struck. Chicago’s run game, which was No. 1 in the league with a bullet across the first month of the campaign, fell off considerably over the past two weeks in Monangai’s absence.
The Bears produced just 81 yards and one score on 24 carries against the Green Bay Packers in Week 5. They then put up 98 yards on 33 carries against the Falcons Sunday, though Chicago did find the end zone three times.
Williams’ return to health and the starting lineup offset the decline in rushing efficiency and overall production of the team’s run game in Atlanta, though the Patriots (4-2) could create more problems, which are also harder to solve, come TNF this week.
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