*The video above is from Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
CHICAGO (WGN) — As I watched the Detroit Lions knock the stuffing out of Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon, the longer the lambasting lasted, the more obvious it became that this roster left their head coach looking like an A-list movie character without the calling card that makes them who they are.
Ben Johnson’s signature is a balanced rushing attack that allows him to open up Pandora’s box in the play-action pass game. Without it, Johnson is Zorro without his rapier, Freddy Krueger without his claws, or Indiana Jones without his whip.
At the surface level, the Bears rank 8th in the NFL in yards per carry (4.8) and 11th in rush yards per game (126.5), but that stat is a bit misleading given Caleb Williams is averaging 42.5 of those yards on 7.7 yards per carry.
Among NFL teams that have played at least two games, Chicago’s running backs rank dead last in EPA/rush and success rate, according to ESPN’s Mina Kimes. Among running backs with at least 25 carries so far this season, D’Andre Swift ranks second-to-last in EPA/rush (-0.25), while Kyle Monangai is sixth-worst in EPA/rush (-0.55) among running backs with at least one carry this season.
In football, EPA stands for Expected Points Added per play. In the case of EPA/rush, it boils down to an advanced statistic that illustrates how many points a running back adds with each carry he takes.
So, the Bears are losing almost a full point every two carries between Swift and Monangai.
That’s not exactly ideal.
With the Lions, Johnson had a two-horse staple in Sonic and Knuckles, a.k.a the dynamic duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and the difference from this year to last is night and day.
Among ball carriers with at least 100 carries in 2024, Gibbs led NFL running backs in EPA/rush (0.14), while Montgomery ranked 18th (-0.04) by the same standard.
Johnson and his run game in Detroit were like a young, spry Indiana Jones in the Last Crusade, equipped with a fresh bull whip and a shiny new Smith and Wesson revolver.
When compared to Chicago’s body of work through Week 2 this season, Johnson and his group of backs are reminiscent of a withered Indiana Jones in the Dial of Destiny. And instead of Harrison Ford having his trusty whip and revolver, all he has is an oversized rubber band and a plastic potato gun.
“We have to find a way to run the ball better early in the game. We have to find a way to not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties early,” Johnson said Monday. “We have to stay on schedule, not have these third and longs. I think that all is a big part of the equation.”
So, how does Indy (Johnson) reclaim his whip (run game) in time to save his dad (Ryan Poles) from being swept under the tank tracks (getting fired)?
Solving that “big part of the equation” is going to take execution from his offensive line before and after the snap, vision and playmaking from Swift, and someone stepping up to be the No. 2 back in Johnson’s offense.
Until then, Indy will continue to believe in his calling card, even if it isn’t yet where the team wants it to be.
“He lets us know, time and time again, that the coaches believe in us and there would be no quit on coaches, players or anything like that,” Swift said. “We are going to be just fine, that’s what he’s preaching to us and know that, but we have to have a sense of urgency with how we approach each and every day. That’s with everybody.”