Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t dance around D’Andre Swift’s latest turnover. He called it what it was.
Swift’s Week 4 fumble against the New York Jets came at a bad time for a Bears offense that had controlled the game, and Johnson made it clear the mistake changed how the day played out for the running back. Swift didn’t log another carry after the third-quarter miscue, a move that underscored the team’s emphasis on accountability.
That turnover helped keep New York alive. After Swift put the ball on the ground, the Jets answered with a field goal to trim the margin to 13-6 and turn a game the Bears had largely handled into a one-score contest. Against a team better able to capitalize on short fields, that kind of mistake could have swung things much harder.
Johnson said the standard inside the building is simple: mistakes happen, but not in the biggest spots. Swift’s benching after the fumble sent that message to the rest of the roster, too.
Asked Wednesday about Swift’s two fumbles already this season, Johnson pointed to how unusual that has been for the veteran back.
"Yeah, it's very uncharacteristic", Johnson said.
Swift’s first fumble came in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings on a first-and-goal snap at the one-yard line. On a wet day at Soldier Field, the turnover loomed large in a game where every point mattered.
Johnson gave Minnesota credit for forcing that one, saying "that's what they do," while still adding "we cannot allow that to happen."
The Bears coach was even more direct about the one against the Jets.
"I think the one last week was egregious, though", Johnson. "It's one that we can't have. There's too many times when the ball's getting away from our body, and he knows that...we just gotta tighten that up, and we'll be just fine moving forward."
Johnson’s comments suggested the issue may be tied to the ball drifting away from Swift’s body too often, something that may not jump out in the moment but would stand out clearly on film.
Swift has now fumbled in two of the last three games, but his broader NFL track record still points away from this becoming a long-term problem. Johnson doesn’t sound alarmed about a lasting issue, but he did make his point about the Week 4 mistake in the bluntest way possible.
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