Running back Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round draft pick, is the Bears’ rookie of the year through six games. Is that a good thing?
Probably not, when their top three picks in Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach were offensive players — tight end Colston Loveland (first round, 10th overall), wide receiver Luther Burden (second round, 39th) and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo (second round, 56th).
All four players, even Monangai, were considered potential breakout performers based on Johnson’s history in Detroit, where first-year offensive players became immediate contributors: running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and wide receiver Jameson Williams.
But in a formative offense with a second-year quarterback — probably a bigger job than Johnson envisioned — the Bears’ rookies are still finding their way.
Loveland has eight receptions for 78 yards (9.8 yards per catch) and no touchdowns. That’s nothing to panic over, but it’s worth noting that Tyler Warren, the tight end whom most thought the Bears would take in the first round, is thriving with the upstart Colts: 33 receptions for 439 yards (13.3 average) and three touchdowns.
Burden has shown flashes of excitement, but his production has been modest: 12 receptions for 172 yards (14.3 average) and one touchdown, a 65-yarder against the Cowboys.
Trapilo was unable to win not only the starting left tackle job but also the backup job and was moved back to right tackle, his position at Boston College. He’s now the backup to presumed mainstay Darnell Wright.
Monangai is the current head of the class. He had 13 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown in the Bears’ 26-14 victory over the Saints on Sunday, matching the production he had in the first five games combined (22 carries, 81 yards). With 35 carries for 162 yards (4.6 average), he’s ahead of the Patriots’ TreVeyon Henderson (43-153, 3.6 average), one of the players the Bears just missed getting in the draft. Then again, Monangai isn’t even the most productive rookie back taken in the seventh round. The Commanders’ Jacory Croskey-Merritt, taken 12 picks after Monangai, has rushed for 377 yards (5.2 average) and four touchdowns in seven games.
Be that as it may, the fact the Bears are 4-2 and 10th in the NFL in scoring without breakout production from their top three rookies bodes well for an offense that historically disappoints but has actual hope under Johnson.
“We still haven’t played the best football that we’re capable of playing yet,” Johnson said after the victory over the Commanders last Monday — and that holds true after a sloppy offensive performance that still resulted in 26 points against the Saints.
The Bears aren’t 10th in scoring because Rex Grossman is playing like an MVP candidate, as was the case in 2006. They’re 10th in scoring with a lot of room for improvement and a coach at the wheel who has done this before. Their rookies — Loveland and Burden in particular — offer hope that this offense is only getting started.
2. On the other hand . . . The Bears had four sacks and seven quarterback hits on the Saints’ Spencer Rattler, but little of the pressure came from the right side against left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., who has been the plug-and-play rookie the Bears were looking for in the draft.
The Saints took Banks at No. 9, one spot before the Bears took Loveland at No. 10. Such was the price the Bears paid (three draft spots) for beating the Packers in Week 17 last season.
That’s not quite Josh Giddey’s half-court shot costing the Bulls the chance to draft Cooper Flagg. But until Loveland becomes a key contributor — or until Theo Benedet establishes himself as an anchor — the Bears’ inability to draft a dedicated left tackle looms as a regret for general manager Ryan Poles.
3. The Ben Johnson effect: Developing Bears quarterbacks have had clunkers before, but rarely do the Bears score 26 points on offense when that happens — although playing the Saints’ 25th-ranked defense surely was a factor Sunday.
Caleb Williams’ 61.7 passer rating is the Bears’ lowest when scoring 25 or more offensive points since 1989, when Mike Tomczak produced 31 points in a 38-7 rout of the Vikings at Soldier Field, completing 10 of 26 passes for 142 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 53.7 rating.
Since the beginning of the Jay Cutler era in 2009, when Bears quarterbacks have been in the bad-but-not-horrendous range (passer ratings of 55-65), the Bears have averaged 13.4 offensive points per game. Coaching matters.
4. Fun fact: The Bears have scored 21 or more points in their first six games for the first time since 1995, when they finished eighth in scoring with Erik Kramer at quarterback but missed the playoffs at 9-7. It’s only the second time they have done it since 1958.
It’s also the first time the Bears have scored 21 or more points in six consecutive games at any point of the season since 2018, when they had a streak of nine straight under Matt Nagy.
5. Believe it or not: At this time last season, the Bears also were 4-2, and 12th in the NFL in scoring. They were coming off victories over the Panthers (36-10) and Jaguars (35-16), having scored five or more offensive touchdowns in back-to-back games for the first time since 1956.
Three weeks later, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired. Eighteen days after that, coach Matt Eberflus was fired. Life comes at you fast in the NFL.
6. Williams’ inaccuracy is a red flag until it isn’t. He completed 15 of 26 passes against the Saints (57.7%) — the third consecutive game he has been below 60%.
Opposing quarterbacks have completed 68.5% of their passes this season against the Bears’ next opponent, the Ravens, including 72% (85 of 118) over the last four games.
The Ravens also are last in the NFL in scoring defense (32.3 points per game), but held the Rams to 17 in their last game. Last year, the Ravens’ defense improved dramatically after a Week 14 bye, allowing an NFL-low 10.8 points after allowing 24.5 before the bye.
7. After being held scoreless for three quarters, the Broncos set an NFL record with 33 points in the fourth to beat the Giants 33-32 on Sunday. The closest the Bears have come to that was in 1994 against the Eagles, when they trailed 30-0 in the fourth quarter and scored 22 unanswered points to get within a touchdown with 3:35 to go (it was the first year of the two-point conversion). They never got the ball back and lost 30-22.
In 2014, the Bears trailed the 49ers 20-7 early in the fourth quarter in the first regular-season NFL game at Levi’s Stadium before Cutler threw three touchdown passes (two to Brandon Marshall, one to Martellus Bennett) for a 28-20 victory.
In the 2020 season opener, the Bears trailed the Lions 23-6 early in the fourth quarter at Ford Field before Mitch Trubisky threw three touchdown passes (to Jimmy Graham, Javon Wims and Anthony Miller) for a 27-23 victory.
8. Despite a 4-2 record and four-game winning streak, the Bears are 6½-point underdogs against the 1-5 Ravens on Sunday.
That doesn’t happen often, but that line presumes Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson will play after missing two games with a hamstring injury (the Ravens were 1-3 with Jackson, for what it’s worth). All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith also is expected to return after also missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.
The Ravens also are coming off a bye. They’re 14-3 after the bye under coach John Harbaugh, including 8-1 since 2016.
9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen had 11 receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown in a 38-24 loss to the Colts. He has 44 receptions for 435 yards and four touchdowns this season. In 15 games with the Bears last season, he had 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven TDs.
10. Bear-ometer — 9-8: at Ravens (L); at Bengals (W); vs. Giants (W); at Vikings (L); vs. Steelers (W); at Eagles (L); at Packers (L); vs. Browns (W); vs. Packers (W); at 49ers (L); vs. Lions (L).