Bears running back Kyle Monangai took a handoff in the second quarter last Sunday and slammed head-first into Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, sending a chunk of yellow paint flying off Cooper’s helmet 10 feet into the air.
If anything, the freezing weather at Lambeau Field seemed to intensify the blow.
“It’s a violent game,” Monangai said this week. “We’re running 100 mph at each other, so it’s gonna hurt.”
He didn’t see the paint explode off Cooper’s helmet until he checked his phone later in the locker room and saw a zoomed-in replay from the Fox broadcast.
His coaches and teammates have watched it countless times since.
“I think that’s what we want,” coach Ben Johnson said. “That was the vision. That was really what we wanted to bring to life. I give the guys a lot of credit for buying into what we’re talking about. Really, they have all the ability in the world to have a physical run game.”
When Johnson installed the rushing attack in the offseason, he pointed to how necessary it would become in arctic temperatures at Soldier Field. The Bears will find out just how necessary against the Browns on Sunday, when temperatures on the lakefront will be between 5 and 14 degrees, not factoring in wind chill. If temps fall on the lower end of projections, it could be one of the five coldest Bears games in Soldier Field history.
“It’s certainly part of your thought process as you’re building the team, just using your home field to your advantage as much as you can,” Johnson said.
The Bears believe their bruising rushing attack gives them an edge in the cold, even against the Browns, whose stadium is mere feet from the shores of Lake Erie.
“We’ll see who wants to play in those conditions,” running back D’Andre Swift said. “I feel like that’s our personality as a team. Physical, tough.”
Seven of the Bears’ nine wins this season have come outdoors — four at Soldier Field and one apiece against the Commanders, Bengals and Eagles.
Along the way, they found their calling card: No team in the NFL averages more rushing yards outdoors than the Bears’ 5.2 per carry.
“That’s what [Johnson] told us in the offseason [organized team activities],” rookie tight end Colston Loveland said. ‘This is what we need to pride ourselves on.’ ‘This needs to be our identity.’ So it’s cool to kind of see it come to life.”
Kyle Monangai broke Edgerin Cooper’s helmet on this run play.
Absolute beast.pic.twitter.com/b2kJFi1bnc
— Polymarket Football (@PolymarketBlitz) December 7, 2025
Johnson is quick to say the Bears “want the ability to run or throw it, whatever it takes to win.” But in a season when the Bears have won because of their passing game just once, he’s happy to lean on Swift, Monangai and a rebuilt offensive line.
“I think we’re in a good spot right now to where that running game has come on strong,” Johnson said. “It’s physical, man. I give a lot of credit to our guys . . . the way the O-line is coming off the ball, the way the tight ends are blocking.”
The Bears are averaging 152.6 rushing yards per game, the second-most in the NFL. Since Week 6, when they came off their bye and started implementing more motions to give them a pre-snap advantage in the running game, they lead the NFL with 175 rushing yards per game.
The Browns allow 3.8 yards per carry, the fourth-best in the league. But the Titans broke through against them last week when Tony Pollard ran for touchdowns of 65 and 32 yards.
That gives the Bears optimism going into Sunday. So does their own résumé — and their attitude.
“We studied what [the Browns] did,” -Mon-an-gai said. “We have our own game plan, our own thoughts, going into the game. But it’s no secret we want to run the ball.” no secret we want to run the ball.”