Chicago Bears fans remember how vital Kyle Monangai was in the two comeback wins over the Green Bay Packers last year. It was his physicality that set the tone for the entire team, it seemed.
That Bears offense (and defense, for that matter) fed off of Monangai's physical nature in both of those contests, which is precisely why it hurt not to have Monangai out on the field in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers.
First and foremost, let's get this out of the way: I am not going to blame a loss on an injury (we already know fans who do that and they just so happened to be in the winner's column today).
The Bears didn't lose because Monangai was out. They didn't even lose because of Caleb Williams not playing.
The Bears lost because they were out-played and out-coached in every sense, but not having Monangai was certainly felt.
Instead, it was fourth-year pro Roschon Johnson getting a rare opportunity to step up and finally prove he is worth keeping around.
Roschon Johnson made Bears fans desperately miss Kyle Monangai against the Packers
Johnson did himself no favors with his performance against the Packers, though, and the difference between he and Monangai was so very evident on this afternoon.
Now, for context, D'Andre Swift only carried the ball nine times, but gained 43 yards and a score. Swift actually looked good in those limited touches. He was able to find some holes occasionally and move the sticks a couple of times.
Johnson, on the other hand, received five carries in which he took six yards.
Every time Johnson took a hand-off, it was like he operated in slow motion while everyone else was at full speed.
If I could paint you a mental picture, it almost looked as if you had brought in someone off the street to play running back, handed them the ball in the middle of an NFL game, and assumed they'd know what to do.
Johnson more or less froze on several of his carries. Whether it was because there was no hole to run through or he just didn't see one, the fact was, Johnson didn't even look like he was trying. There was one occasion in the first half where he kind of just fell diagonally on a failed first-down conversion attempt, and I'm not even quite sure what he was trying to do.
When he did try to run with the ball, he looked slow. He looked, again, like he was hardly moving. He looked unathletic -- and this was on display after some of the garbage-time receptions he had late in the game, as well.
He has zero sudden-movement ability, whereas even Monangai is able to execute a quick cut and get upfield. Johnson, after one particular reception, looked like he was attempting a juke, but only from the neck up.
It was ... odd; painful to watch, even.
Coming out of Texas, Johnson was still raw as a running back, having converted from playing quarterback. There was a lot of untapped potential, or so we thought.
Now, over three years in, there still hasn't been any improvement. He looks like a guy who just doesn't fit the mold, which is unfortunate, considering his physical build.
At six feet, 227 pounds, Johnson should have every bit of ability to exercise physical dominance.
But, he doesn't.
Monangai is four inches shorter but still 207 pounds, thus having a bigger build as well. Only he knows how to use it, and he does it well.
The lack of physicality from the Bears, in all three phases, was disappointing to see against the Packers on Sunday.
Read more: Bears' loss perfectly summed up with Ben Johnson-Matt LaFleur postgame handshake
One player doesn't make or break the game, but the Bears definitely missed having Monangai's energy and level of grit. Needless to say, this fan base has to be already looking forward to the Christmas Day rematch where, hopefully, both Monangai and Williams are back out there.
Add us as a preferred source on Google