LAKE FOREST, Ill -- As the Chicago Bears put together their longest scoring drive in a century on a 19-play march that spanned 76 yards, ate up 9:54 on the clock in the third quarter and ended with Caleb Williams finding DJ Moore in the back of the end zone on fourth down, Chicago's run game finally looked like it could hold its own.
The Bears ran the ball 11 straight times against a Dallas Cowboys defense that grew demoralized as its players got pushed back deep into their own territory play after play. Most of Chicago's rushing attempts were between 2 and 7-yard gains that played into the offense's plan to control the clock while playing with a double-digit lead that resulted in a 31-14 win.
"I know that our guys were feeling it, but there's something about when we look across the ball and you see the opposition equally fatigued that brings out that competitive spirit and you want to finish that drive with points," Bears coach Ben Johnson said.
The Bears picked up 40 of their 87 rushing yards against the Cowboys on that drive. While grinding out yards against a Dallas run defense that ranks 17th (109.7 yards per game) proved effective at that point of the game, Chicago's rushing attack has lacked the spark the Bears had hoped for through their first three games.
They hope to change that narrative Sunday when they face the Raiders in Las Vegas (4:25 p.m. EST, CBS). The Raiders yield 114.0 rushing yards per game.
"[It] felt like we left meat on the bone a little bit in this last game," offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said.
The Bears watched all 29 run plays from the Dallas game as a group earlier this week to look for ways to improve. Players say they were encouraged by what they saw on film despite the team's rushing output.
"[The tape] kind of pointed out that it's small stuff, little stuff," running back D'Andre Swift said. "We're close."
Chicago's run game ranks 15th (113.3 ypg) through three games, a figure that's inflated by the contributions of Williams' scrambling. That number dips to 64.3 yards/game (28th) when excluding quarterback and wide receiver runs, the latter of which has become a regular part of the offense with Moore lining up in the backfield.
Chicago has yet to get significant production from Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai. Based on the contributions solely from its running backs, the Bears' success rate on rushing attempts is 34.5% (T-25th) while their 3.5 yards per rush ranks 27th.
Some of that has to do with Johnson's feel for calling the run game. After rushing for 119 yards on 26 attempts in a loss to Minnesota, a figure boosted by Williams' 58 scramble yards, Johnson said he anticipated the Bears would have been on the same page more than they were. He vowed to get Monangai, a seventh-rounder, involved in the run game after he logged no carries against the Vikings. That started to take shape against Detroit (7 carries for Monangai) but given how quickly the game got out of hand in a 52-21 rout, the Bears abandoned the run as they tried to survive the Lions.
As Johnson aims to improve the Bears' run game efficiency, he put the onus on his playcalling to put his running backs in a better position.
"Our whole goal as a coaching staff is to get them up to the third level as much as we can to make these safeties and these corners tackle them one on one," Johnson said. "We haven't been doing that enough, so as a coaching staff we need a sound plan and then we need to go out there and we need to execute it just a little bit better than what we have been doing. I'm not discouraged at all."
Swift shared that same sentiment, noting how in his experience, it takes a running back and an offensive line with several new players "three to four" games to gel together.
"Just trying to get everything on track, from pass blocking, the run blocking and the combos, communication up front." Swift said. "...Stuff like that kind of took time. But I feel like what we did on Monday is a great step for us as offense, talking through everything together, and us being all in the same room, so everybody can hear different coaching points from different coaches in different positions."
Swift's slow start (42 rushes, 149 yards, TD) through three games feels like his early production during his first season in Chicago in 2024. He didn't reach the end zone until Week 4 when he ran for 93 yards and a touchdown and caught seven passes for 72 yards.
But as Chicago's lead back, Swift is struggling to generate consistency. His success rate on rushes is 35.7%, which ranks 33rd out of 38 running backs with at least 20 carries, according to ESPN Research. His 1.76 rushing yards after contact ranks 23rd while his rushing yards before contact (1.79) are 29th.
And despite the early struggles of the run game, the Bears offensive line is second in the NFL in run block win-rate at 76.3%. That's an O-line with three new members on the interior between guards Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and center Drew Dalman.
"You can't really put that on one guy," Doyle said. "That's us being better on the perimeter as well. We gotta do a better job out there. But when you're evaluating the tape and you're watching it with a runner, what's your read? What did you see? Where does that ball need to go? And then maybe we find a different cavity in that defense that we're able to capitalize on that a little more. And I think that's an evolving thing."