![\"D'Andre](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chicago-bears-v-carolina-panthers-charlotte-north-carolina-september-13-head-e1789409166418.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson.<\/p>\n
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson wasn\u2019t surprised to see veteran running back D\u2019Andre Swift<\/a> put up a big performance in Week 1\u2019s win over the Carolina Panthers<\/a>, just two days after signing his three-year, $33.75 million contract extension with the team.<\/p>\n Johnson doesn\u2019t think anyone else in the building was too surprised, either.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a good week, huh?\u201d Johnson quipped Sunday. \u201cI mean, he earned it, every step of it. We really value what he brings to the table. He\u2019s had a great spring, a great training camp, so I don\u2019t think anyone in our building is surprised that he\u2019s out of the gate in a strong fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n Swift set the tone for the Bears\u2019 run game in their season-opening win over the Panthers, rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and adding a 10-yard reception. It was Swift\u2019s fourth game with more than 100 rushing yards since Johnson took over as head coach in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to stick around with this group of guys is something special, something I don\u2019t take for granted,\u201d Swift said in Sunday\u2019s postgame. \u201cTo be able to go in there and work alongside Ben, just thankful, grateful, for the opportunity to continue to work.\u201d<\/p>\n D\u2019Andre Swift: \u2018Something to Prove Every Day I Wake Up\u2019<\/p>\n Swift certainly gave the Bears a good early return on their investment in Week 1\u2019s dominant win.<\/p>\n Not only did the 27-year-old running back lead the charge for Chicago\u2019s backfield on the road in Carolina, but his effective running also opened up more opportunities for the Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams to take shots downfield in the passing game using play-action concepts.<\/p>\n Did it mean a little something extra to Swift to prove himself after his extension, though?<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s always my mindset,\u201d Swift said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m just getting started. Just grateful to be able to keep going with these guys. My mindset wasn\u2019t going to change whether it was something done or not, you know what I mean? I\u2019ve got something to prove every day I wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n Bears\u2019 Run Game Looking Even Better After Strong 2025<\/p>\n The Bears seemed poised to have a strong run game again in 2026 after finishing last season as the NFL\u2019s third-best rushing offense and returning their top two backs, Swift and Kyle Monangai<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even by last year\u2019s standards, though, they looked much better on the ground in Week 1.<\/p>\n The Bears finished with 291 rushing yards \u2014 the team\u2019s most since 1984 \u2014 and six rushing touchdowns in their win over the Panthers. While Swift led all rushers in yardage, Monangai finished second with 100 yards on 10 carries, including a career-long 61-yard touchdown run.<\/p>\n Williams also added 65 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, most of which were scrambles. The former No. 1 overall pick looked much more decisive about using his legs to pick up extra yardage than he did in 2025 and looked fearless on his runs for the end zone in the victory.<\/p>\n In the end, the Bears finished with nearly 90 rushing yards more than the next-closest team (Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, 202), not counting the yet-to-be-played game on Monday Night Football.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJordan J. Wilson<\/a> is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports \u2014 high school, college and pro \u2014 for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson wasn\u2019t surprised to see veteran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1000847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,6],"class_list":["post-1000846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-bears","tag-bears","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-bears","tag-chicagobears","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117271199095967342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/chicago-bears-v-carolina-panthers-charlotte-north-carolina-september-13-caleb-e1789415587964.jpg\")
GettyBears quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a> hands off to D\u2019Andre Swift. (Getty)<\/p>\n