Bears News: Swift, Johnson and Moore on offensive success against Rams |
CHICAGO—Finally, things were clicking on offense. Sunday’s 24-18 victory against the Los Angeles Rams marks the first time this season Chicago has scored at least 20 points. It also marked the first time the Bears saw running back D’Andre Swift look like the back everyone was expecting him to be—dynamic and dangerous.
Swift finished the game with 93 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, and a rushing touchdown, his first as a member of the Chicago Bears. His 36-yard rushing touchdown was the second-longest of his career. The Pro Bowl running back said after the game that he would continue to put his head down, work, and do whatever the team needs of him to win games. “Whatever I need to do to help this team succeed, that’s what I’m here for … I feel like (when) you (have success in the) running game, it opens up everything else. I feel like we did that today,” Swift said. “I’m (going to) just put my head down and go to work. That’s all I know … There’s stuff I can clean up. I feel like I’m just getting started. I’m glad we got the win first and foremost.” Running back Roschon Johnson is also getting more involved in the rushing game and finally scored his first rushing touchdown of the season. It was his first career touchdown that resulted in a lead change, as it gave the Bears a 7-6 lead after kicker Cairo Santos’ extra point. As someone who was inactive in the first game of the season and did not play in the second game of the year, Johnson was thankful to be on the field and help the Bears' running game, which had been struggling before this game. “We’ve been trying to get stuff going (on the) ground. So, it was just a sigh of relief,” Johnson said. “I was just happy to get in there for the team, to ultimately score and put us up. It was just, (the) emotion of the game is kind of going in and out. But, I was just happy to get in there.” This game marked firsts for many people. Swift, Johnson, and receiver DJ Moore—all three players who scored touchdowns—had not scored a touchdown prior to this game. Moore has always been a patient player, and after seeing the offense struggle for three weeks, he was excited to finally see the Bears get things going and be able to sustain drives. “I’m just too happy that we won. Everything was just clicking. Everything was going the way that we planned on it. For the offense, going in this week was real detailed. We had people get called out if you (weren’t) doing your stuff. That goes a long way because you don’t want to be on that list,” Moore said. “We (were) just playing fast. So, it just looked and felt simple because we made the defense stay in one kind of coverage or we dictated what they (were) going to do (by) staying in no-huddle or just getting on the ball fast.” For the second time since joining the Bears, Moore will be in a rematch against his former team, the Carolina Panthers, on Sun. Oct. 6 (Noon / FOX). The last time the two faced off, Chicago had a 16-13 win led by quarterback Tyson Bagent. Moore did not have a receiving touchdown in that game; however, with the amount of points Carolina is giving up each week, he will certainly have the opportunity to do so this time around.
