Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift broke out with 93 rushing yards and 72 receiving yards Sunday to fuel a 24-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field.
The Bears offense totaled just 97 yards in the first half but broke out in the second half to finish with 264. The victory broke a two-game losing streak after back-to-back road losses.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completed 17 of 23 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.
Swift broke free for a 36-yard touchdown run with 12 minutes, 26 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to put the Bears up 24-15. That play immediately followed Williams’ 22-yard pass to Cole Kmet to get the Bears into Rams territory.
It was Swift’s first touchdown as a Bear and came after he totaled just 68 yards rushing in the first three games.
After Swift’s score, Rams kicker Joshua Karty made a 52-yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-18. Safety Jaquan Brisker sacked Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford for a 9-yard loss on second down on the drive.
The Rams (1-3) had one last chance at a drive in the final minute of the game, but Brisker intercepted Stafford on the first play. It was the Bears’ second takeaway of the day after Montez Sweat forced a first-half fumble.
That was Karty’s second field goal of the half after he hit a 25-yarder on their opening drive to cut the Bears’ lead to 10-9.
The Bears (2-2) responded with a 74-yard touchdown drive, capped with Williams’ 9-yard pass to DJ Moore on third-and-5 for a 17-9 lead. The Bears got big plays from Swift and Roschon Johnson on the drive.
Stafford opened the Rams’ ensuing drive with passes of 16 and 25 yards. Kyren Williams eventually ran in for a 3-yard touchdown. But Stafford’s two-point conversion pass was incomplete, and the Bears held onto the lead at 17-15.
Stafford completed 20 of 29 passes for 224 yards, no touchdowns and the interception.
The Bears played the entire second half without left guard Teven Jenkins, who left the game with a ribs injury.
Here’s how the game unfolded.
Inactives: Keenan Allen returns for first time since opener
Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is active for the first time since Week 1.
Allen has been battling heel pain for more than a month and eventually was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. He tried to play through the pain in the season opener, totaling four catches for 29 yards, but he aggravated the injury during the game.
Allen then sat out the next two games to try to let the injury heal. The Bears will look for the six-time Pro Bowler to provide another boost in the passing game after quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 363 yards in Week 3.
Bears safety Kevin Byard (back) and defensive tackle Andrew Billings (knee) are also active after they missed practice Thursday and were limited Friday because of their injuries.
Byard, who worked out on the field pregame, has never missed a game because of injury in nine NFL seasons, though he only played 16 games last season because he had two bye weeks after the Tennessee Titans traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Bears placed tight end Stephen Carlson on injured reserve with a collar bone injury Saturday. They previously declared out cornerback Terell Smith (hip) and defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin).
Fullback Khari Blasingame, defensive end Dominique Robinson, wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and offensive lineman Bill Murray are also inactive.
For the Rams, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, quarterback Stetson Bennett, running back Cody Schrader, outside linebacker Brennan Jackson, offensive lineman Geron Christian Sr. and defensive end Desjuan Johnson are inactive.
Halftime: Bears lead Rams 10-6
Bears running back Roschon Johnson, right, celebrates after scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run against the Rams during the second quarter on Sept. 29, 2024, at Soldier Field. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)The Bears totaled just 97 yards of offense and committed seven penalties for a loss of 60 yards in the first half Sunday against the Rams. But the Bears still led 10-6 at halftime at Soldier Field.
They had a chance to go up by more late in the second quarter.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams hit D’Andre Swift with a short pass that Swift turned into a 27-yard gain and on the next play escaped a sack attempt to hit Swift for an 8-yard gain. Swift gained 7 yards on a carry on the next play to get to the 17-yard line.
But Williams overthrew Rome Odunze in the end zone, took a sack for a 5-yard loss and then overthrew DJ Moore. The Bears instead settled for a 40-yard Cairo Santos field goal.
Williams completed 8 of 13 passes for 71 yards, and Swift had six carries for 26 yards and three catches for 40 yards.
The Bears scored their only touchdown after defensive end Montez Sweat forced Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to fumble and nickel Kyler Gordon recovered it at the Rams 16.
On third down, Rams cornerback Tre’Davious White was called for pass interference in the end zone while defending Keenan Allen. With the ball at the 1-yard line, running back Roshcon Johnson barreled into the end zone for a 7-6 Bears lead.
Johnson’s touchdown erased the bad taste of a painful first few series for the offense.
On the Bears’ first two drives, Williams completed 3 of 4 passes for 13 yards and D’Andre Swift had four carries for 18 yards. Left tackle Braxton Jones was flagged for an illegal blindside block to set the second drive back on the opening play.
Their third drive included five penalties — two defensive holding and a Bears false start, holding and illegal procedure — and ended with a Williams strip-sack, which offensive lineman Matt Pryor recovered.
That left them unable to keep up with even a mediocre Rams effort on offense.
Joshua Karty made a 46-yard field goal late in the first quarter for a 3-0 Rams lead. Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter sacked Stafford for an 8-yard loss when the Rams reached the Bears 30, and the Rams didn’t get the first down on two straight Kyren Williams runs.
The Rams went up 6-0 on Karty’s 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker appeared to have intercepted Stafford on third down, but a review showed Brisker stepped out of bounds and didn’t reestablish himself inbounds with both feet before jumping to make the pick.
But Karty missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt wide left with 1 minute, 1 second to play in the second quarter to allow the Bears to keep the lead.
Bears left guard Teven Jenkins went down with a ribs injury during a Williams running play in the second quarter and walked slowly to the locker room. Pryor moved to left guard, and Nate Davis entered at right guard. The Bears announced Jenkins was questionable to return.
Catch up on the rest of our coverage.
5 things to watch — plus our Week 4 predictions
The connection between rookie QB Caleb Williams and rookie WR Rome Odunze broke through in Week 3, when Odunze had six catches on 11 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. It was part of Williams’ biggest passing day thus far, when he completed 33 of 52 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns — but also two interceptions.
Odunze said it has been “a gradual progression of finally feeling and playing like myself” as he was adjusting to NFL play while also battling a knee injury the last two weeks.
Now the Bears hope that they’ll get veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen back to join Odunze and DJ Moore for Sunday’s game. Allen has missed the last two weeks with plantar fasciitis. Allen said he’s “pretty confident” that it won’t be a problem throughout the season.
“It’s Keenan Allen, bro,” Odunze said when asked what his return would do. “He’s going to go out there and provide problems for the defense, tell us different things during the course of the game to help us out and continue to be Keenan Allen, the weapon that he is. That’s going to provide problems for the defense, not knowing who to guard out there, who to cover, who to emphasize and allow more things to open up.” Read more here.
‘Our desired identity hasn’t changed’
In explaining the Bears’ vision for adding D’Andre Swift in free agency, coach Matt Eberflus likened him to a slugger, saying the team wanted a “home run hitter” in the backfield.
“I think D’Andre brings that,” Eberflus said in March. “We wanted a weapon back — a guy who could be a weapon out of the backfield. I think he had (39) catches last and he brings that. He’s got tremendous speed. You can feel that when he is running the football but you can definitely feel that as a pass catcher.”
But Swift isn’t getting on base. Forget long balls. He’s not hitting singles when he steps to the plate. That’s just one of the complications for a running game that hasn’t been the complement rookie quarterback Caleb Williams needs. Read more here.
‘For players, it’s just to be able to have their own voice’
Podcasts by active players have grown to new heights over the last decade. The New York Times reported this month that active NBA players, who helped pioneer the medium, hosted at least two dozen podcasts last season.
The NFL space also has many, the most popular being the “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. It has 2.45 million subscribers on YouTube — a number certainly boosted by the crossover of Taylor Swift fans interested in Travis — and recently was sold to Amazon’s Wondery, reportedly for at least $100 million.
But for the Bears to have three separate player podcasts on one team in one season is noteworthy — and perhaps indicative of the offseason hype around them. Read more here.
Tracking Caleb Williams
Coming out of Sunday’s loss, rookie QB Caleb Williams expressed the need for “constant communication” as the offense tries to find its groove and forge an identity before the season gets too far along. On Wednesday, the rookie quarterback was assertive in defining his role in that process.
“It starts with me,” he said.
In a nutshell, Williams is vowing to be more communicative, first with the coaching staff but then also with his teammates as the offense works to identify what it does best. That’s on the sideline during games. But, more importantly, it’s during the week at Halas Hall. On the practice field. In meetings. During one-on-one conversations. Read more here.
- Tracking Caleb Williams: How the Bears QB is performing in his rookie season
- Column: As Caleb Williams rides the NFL’s QB roller coaster, Mark Sanchez can relate to the Bears rookie
Rewind to Week 3
Despite all of the ugliness, all of the mistakes that had preceded the moment at Lucas Oil Stadium, Williams took a snap with a chance to lead the winning drive with 6 minutes, 52 seconds to play against the Colts. Six seconds later, Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu swiped the opportunity away.
The 6-foot-5, 265-pound rookie from UCLA burst off the line of scrimmage and barreled around Bears tight end Cole Kmet. Williams said he could feel Latu coming, and he tried to step up in the pocket and make small movements. But he could see wide receiver Rome Odunze about to pop open behind the linebacker and prepared to throw.
With Kmet falling to the ground as he tried to stop it, Latu swatted at the arm of Williams, who fumbled. Colts nose tackle Grover Stewart pounced on the ball at the Bears 16-yard line. Four plays later, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for the deciding play in a 21-16 Colts victory. Read more here.
- Caleb Williams took a step forward, but Bears did too much wrong: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 3 loss
- Column: Bears opt for finesse over force during their moment of truth on the goal line
- Justin Fields shines as the Steelers move to 3-0 with a 20-10 win over the Chargers
- Week 3 in the NFC North: Vikings stay undefeated, Malik Willis leads Packers past his former team and Lions hold on late
