CHICAGO – After getting their best field position of the day when Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked and fumbled at his own 16-yard line, the Chicago Bears offense went old school.

A week after a disastrous goal-line sequence in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts featured repeated failures coming out of the shotgun, the Bears used their most potent rusher from the I-formation to score their first touchdown in a 24-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

With three tight ends on the field and backup center Doug Kramer Jr. Lined up at fullback, Bears 6-foot-4, 225-pound running back Roschon Johnson easily made his way into the end zone after a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

This was more than an ode to the ground-and-pound offense that has defined the Bears franchise for decades. This was the part of the Bears’ offensive identity that had been missing since the start of the season. After posting the No. 2 rushing attack (141.1 yards per game) in 2023, Chicago was unable to establish an effective rushing attack in its first three games and was just ahead of the last-place Las Vegas Raiders with fewer than 73 rushing yards per game. game.

The burden once carried by ex-Bears quarterback Justin Fields was passed to Chicago’s stable of running backs, headlined by D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert and Johnson.

For three games, the Bears struggled to figure out which running back they could lean on consistently. Against the Rams, that part of Chicago’s offense had a breakthrough, amassing 131 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts.

“That’s something we’ve been really good at the last few years,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I’m sure it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for (offensive coordinator) Shane (Waldron) coming in, obviously with the run game we’ve had the last couple of seasons. I think we’re finding our way with it.”

All week, Bears coaches and players openly discussed issues unfolding on offense as the team got off to a 1-2 start. Veterans like tight end Marcedes Lewis implored coaches during a meeting to uphold a higher standard of accountability, while Waldron and coach Matt Eberflus discussed how to ensure the right players could be relied on in situations that would be best matched their strengths.

Johnson’s ability to run downhill made him the best fit for the Bears to convert on the goal line, while Swift, whose slow start to the season has been a sore spot, found his groove when the Bears got him in space.

Swift, who the Bears signed to a three-year, $24 million contract in March, totaled 114 yards through three weeks and averaged 1.8 yards per carry. Against the Rams, the Pro Bowler totaled 16 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown, while catching all seven targets for 72 yards.

“It means a lot, but I know who I am,” Swift said. “I know who I am, I know what I can do and I know what God has instilled in me. If I have that mentality every time I go to work, I know I’ll be okay.”

According to ESPN Research, Swift gained 74 of his 93 rushing yards before contact (4.6 yards before contact per rush), a significant increase from the 0.78 yards before contact per rush he averaged in Weeks 1-3.

The difference a week made was palpable throughout the attack.

“It opens up everyone else,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “Because he’s as dynamic as he is in the run-and-pass game, when he gets out in the pass game and sneaks out of the backfield and he’s wide open on his own, he can go all the way.”

Swift did that on his game-clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the Bears up 24-15. After receiving a handoff from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Swift danced around a defender at the line of scrimmage before bursting into the open field and running 36 yards untouched into the end zone.

It was the longest rushing touchdown the Bears had recorded since Week 18 of the 2022 season (42 yards by Velus Jones Jr.).