LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Caleb Williams had gotten the play wrong.
But by the time the Chicago Bears quarterback got the ball snapped with 10:36 to play in the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders, he quickly found the player who would make him right.
The Bears needed four yards on third down from midfield. Instead, running back D'Andre Swift gave his team 55 on a catch-and-run touchdown to cut the Commanders' lead to two and get Chicago back in the game.
"I wanted him to get the ball early so he could go make a play in space, which he does best," Williams said.
Swift's receiving touchdown was part of his 175 yards from scrimmage in which he led the Bears in rushing (108) and receiving (67) during Chicago's 25-24 win -- its third straight.
That performance earned him one of two game balls given out by coach Ben Johnson. The other went to kicker Jake Moody, who kicked four field goals -- including a game winner as time expired -- the same day he was elevated from the practice squad.
It also showed that the patience afforded to Swift by coaches during the first month of the season had paid off.
Swift's breakthrough performance came after Johnson had backed Chicago's lead rusher for weeks despite a slow start when he averaged 3.4 yards per carry. "Our guys are going to be fine," Johnson proclaimed, often pointing to other factors -- offensive line play, blocking on the perimeter by receivers, Williams carrying out a play fake -- as the culprits for why the Bears weren't giving their running backs a chance.
What Johnson foreshadowed finally came to fruition six weeks into the season. Swift's 7.7 yards per carry were his highest in two seasons with Chicago and cemented his first 100-yard rushing performance since the 2024 season, which also happened at Washington.
According to ESPN Research, Swift's 10.9 yards per touch marked the highest by any player this season (among 139 instances of a player with 15 touches in a game in 2025).
"He was huge," Johnson said. "This is the best, most efficient we've ran the ball all year. Really felt an attitude with him. He did a great job finding a little crease and stepping on the gas as we talked about.
"I think it's who I really thought he was going to be going into the season. We're looking for guys that can elevate the people around him, and he did that here [Monday.]"
The physicality Swift brought to Chicago's run game was on display in rainy conditions. He gained 87 yards on nine carries against loaded boxes compared with 21 yards on five carries when the Bears had a numbers advantage in the box.
Getting Swift in space has long been the Bears' prerogative, and it's not hard to understand why. When rushing outside, Swift ran for 91 yards on eight carries, while his inside runs earned 17 yards on six carries.
Fixing the run game was a heavy area of focus during Chicago's Week 5 bye. Johnson said he took the struggles "personally" because of how much more time he spends on the run game than the passing game during a week of game prep. The changes he called for centered around better execution. He could see that the Bears were close to a few big runs finally breaking through. To make that happen, Johnson thought that simplifying things for his offense could be the key.
"Honestly, this is probably the smallest menu (of run plays) we've had going into a week," Johnson said. "Maybe that has something to do with us being able to execute a little bit better, a little bit less volume."
Chicago had 27 rushing attempts against the Commanders, including 14 by Swift, five by rookie Kyle Monangai and two for wide receiver DJ Moore. Running back Roschon Johnson, who had been written out of the game plan on offense during Chicago's 2-2 start, got his first carry of the season (6 yards on first down).
Less volume meant the complexity of runs increased against the Commanders. While Johnson said the number of runs will vary by opponent, the Bears will look to extend their win streak to four when they face a Saints team that has allowed 18 scrimmage touchdowns (tied for fourth most in the NFL). New Orleans has allowed only one 100-yard rushing performance (Buffalo's James Cook III in Week 4) but has given up over 38 yards rushing to opposing quarterbacks on three occasions (Arizona's Kyler Murray, Buffalo's Josh Allen and the Giants' Jaxson Dart).
Swift showed up on the injury report Thursday with a groin injury after being listed as a full participant during an estimation Wednesday (the Bears held a walk-through). He is listed as questionable against New Orleans, but he is planning to play.
I can't wait," Swift said. "Another opportunity against a good opponent coming in. Try to stay on the track that we're on. Just another opportunity."
For Swift, picking up where he left off Monday night is the tone he'll look to set early against the Saints.
On the final drive in Washington, Johnson felt like that was going to be it for the Bears. Chicago had just gotten the ball near midfield after Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels fumbled, and Johnson didn't want Washington to have a rebuttal drive of its own. Before Chicago began its final possession with 3:07 to play, Johnson told Williams over the headset to deliver a message to the offensive line.
"Tell the big guys up front that we're going to ride the run game on into victory," Johnson said.
Williams handed the ball to Swift five times and Swift picked up 34 yards, including a 15-yard run that got the Bears into the red zone before Moody trotted out to kick the game winner.
Presented with the opportunity to make a statement he had been longing to for weeks, Swift was ready.
"Just putting it away," Swift said. "That was my mindset. Finishing. If I found a crease, I was going to try to end it."