When the offense struggled, Bears RB D'Andre Swift “brought a little life to the situation”

D'Andre Swift, not Caleb Williams, managed to get the Bears out of their offensive crisis on Sunday afternoon. With about a minute to play, the running back took a handoff around left end, behind blocks from tight end Cole Kmet and rookie Kiran Amegadjie, and raced up the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown.

“Really good blocking at the rim,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Monday. “I know it breathes a little life into the whole situation.”

Commanders coach Dan Quinn considered it one of the biggest plays of the game, which ended in an 18-15 victory after a now-infamous Hail Mary.

“A big, long play, that explosive play that goes for a score, those are the things you have to fight through and come back from,” Quinn said.

Swift's 56-yard run was the eighth-longest in the NFL heading into Monday's games. His 129 rushing yards were his most since 130 on September 25, 2023.

Swift's turnaround was impressive. In Weeks 1 through 3, he averaged 1.8 yards per carry – the worst average of any NFL player who averaged 10 or more carries per game. In Weeks 4 through 8, Swift averaged 5.4, ranking sixth among these players.

Wounded

Eberflus said it will “take some time to assess the injuries” suffered by three offensive players and star defenseman Montez Sweat on Sunday. He expected an update on Wednesday.

Guards Teven Jenkins (knee) and Bill Murray (pec) left the game, as did left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) after 18 snaps. Jones was replaced by Amegadjie in his first extended NFL action.

Sweat suffered from a shin injury for most of the game and played half of the Bears' snaps, but was not healthy enough to be on the field for the Hail Mary.

“Obviously we’d like to have him there – he’s one of the guys that (quarterback Jayden Daniels) can get and chase,” Eberflus said.

this and that

• Daniels' passer rating of 92.7 was the highest the Bears had allowed all season.

• The Bears hit five of Tory Taylor's punts inside the 20, their third-most since 1991.

Stevenson apologized to his teammates at Halas Hall on Monday after waving to fans as Hail Mary was snapped on Sunday.

From Patrick Finley

Well, that quickly collapsed.

From Sun-Times Staff Writer

Caleb Williams didn't play until the fourth quarter. The defense gave the Bears a chance to win by holding the Commanders to four field goals the rest of the way. But the team started slowly and ended in disaster – a bad impression for coach Matt Eberflus and his staff.

From Mark Potash