The Chicago Bears simply dominated time of possession against the New York Jets, with more first downs than the visitors had plays. Of course, that was rooted in a proficient run game, as the Bears piled up 232 yards on the ground across 54 attempts.
Kyle Monangai ended up being the star of the rushing effort, with 146 yards and two touchdowns on a mid-90s-esque 30 carries. After a third-quarter fumble, which capped a fairly dismal day for him, D'Andre Swift did not see the field again. When Monangai suffered a thumb injury late, Roschon Johnson filled in for Swift.
Swift popped up on the injury report with a knee injury last week. After Sunday's game, head coach Ben Johnson was asked if an injury played a role in keeping Swift out, as he seemed slow to get up after the fumble.
"No, nothing like that."
Swift also had a fumble in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings. So it's fair to say Johnson sent a message to him and to the rest of his team about mistakes. Things happen, but if something becomes a visible trend, you will be held accountable.
D'Andre Swift's fantasy value for 2026 is not dead
Swift is having a very good start to the season, as he sits top-10 in the league in rushing yards (311) and carries (69), along with three touchdowns. Being benched for the remainder of a game after fumble will not erase him as an important part of the Bears' offense in tandem with Monangai.
It may be easy to declare Week 4 as the start of Monangai taking over the Bears' backfield, and the carry split will tilt toward him in certain situations. Week 4 was an outlier for a lot of reasons, namely the nearly 43 minutes the Bears had the ball and circumstances that led to Monangai getting 30 carries.
With that in mind, Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus has Swift atop his list of five players to buy low on in fantasy football heading toward Week 5. Swift's fumble was, of course, the clear turning point in how the Bears' running backs were deployed against the Jets.
"Over the first six drives of this game, the rates were slightly closer together, at 61.1% to 38.9%",Jahnke wrote. "That was largely because Chicago ran 54 plays over those six drives, which is more than usual, which naturally lends itself to more rotation."
"The Bears' sixth drive was the first one in the third quarter, and Swift lost a fumble. That quickly led the Jets to score a field goal, making it a one-score game. Chicago had three more drives over the rest of the game, which lasted a ridiculous 39 plays. During that time, Monangai played 29 snaps to 10 by Roschon Johnson. Monangai ran 18 times during the stretch, compared to four runs by Johnson. If the Bears continued their usual rotation over those drives, Swift would have likely seen at least 10 more carries."
Jahnke noted that fumbling has not been an issue for Swift during his career, with no more than three in any full season. But if Swift managers are concerned about Week 4, there is a potential buy-low opportunity via trade.
"As long as Swift doesn’t fumble again anytime soon, I wouldn’t expect the running back rotation to change. Ideally, the person who has Swift is worried about Monangai’s production in Week 4, and that could make it easier to trade for Swift."
Week 5 brings a get-right opportunity for Swift. The Green Bay Packers enter the week allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs (ESPN scoring). The Bears' schedule is more neutral in the weeks after that, before softening nicely again after the bye in Week 10.
Read more: Rome Odunze showed he heard Ben Johnson's unsubtle message loud and clear
Swift fantasy managers should not be ready to cut bait after one week when things took a negative turn. That said, non-Swift managers should take the temperature of the Swift manager in their league, just to see if he is gettable in a trade and/or what it might take.
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