Windy City Gridiron
The NFL season is an evolving state of affairs, and week 9 finds your 4-3 Chicago Bears right back in the crosshairs of a .500 season with the dream of playoff football seemingly slipping through their grasp. Or, right back at the front of the pack in terms of playoff odds.
In this weekly series, I’ll be featuring one player from each team on each side of the ball who I believe to be integral to their respective team’s success. It’s not always about the quarterback or superstar defensive players like Trey Hendrickson and Myles Garrett. Importance is all relative, and while the “star” players are obviously important each week, this series will also highlight some of the other guys.
Because let’s face it, often, the unsung players are just as critical to the team’s success.
Here are the players that I will be keyed in on in this one.
With starter D’Andre Swift officially ruled OUT on Friday, the rookie from Rutgers will get his first career professional start and will be relied upon to sustain the run game. Monangai has seen more playing time since the Bye week, resulting in his first game over 50 yards on the ground and his first TD. Monangai averaged 42% of snaps post-Bye and 28% before the Bye. On the season, #25 has totaled 42 carries for 186 yards and a score with a 4.4 yard average to go along with 6 catches on 9 targets for another 61 scoreless yards through the air.
With Swift missing his first game of the season, I not only expect Monangai to nearly double his season high snap percentage, but I also expect him to get his first career 100-yard game and find the endzone once again. The Bengals are allowing a league-high 151.9 rushing yards per game to their opponents and 10 rushing TDs in their 8 games this season. If Monangai can indeed have himself a breakout game, the Bears’ offense should stay in rhythm, control the clock, and thus win the time of possession battle and provide fewer opportunities for the Bengals to put up points. If Monangai is somehow shut down, then it could come down to a shootout in Cincy, which would minimize the room for error and once again come down to the wire. A big game from Chicago’s 7th round draft pick will go a long way this week.
The long awaited return of second year pro and preseason hero Austin Booker is upon us. Will he provide the much needed spark to Chicago’s pass rush or will he fail to make an impact like all of the other defensive ends not named Montez Sweat? That question will be key this week in what is expected to be a high-scoring affair.
Head Coach Ben Johnson spoke on the lack of a pass rush earlier in the week so there should...
