The Chicago Bears didn’t exactly come out firing in their Week 14 clash with the Green Bay Packers. In fact, the first half was the kind of offensive showing that’s become all too familiar for Bears fans - sluggish, disjointed, and frustrating. Just 80 total yards before halftime, with 48 of those coming on the ground, had the faithful bracing for another rough afternoon.
But as the game wore on, something shifted. The Bears leaned into the run game - hard - and that decision started to pay off.
At the heart of that resurgence? Rookie running back Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round pick who’s quickly proving he’s more than just a late-draft flyer.
Monangai delivered the kind of moment that gets fans - and legends - out of their seats. On a bruising power run in the second half, he lowered his shoulder and ran straight through All-Pro safety Xavier McKinney.
Not around. Not past.
Through. It was the kind of hit that echoes, and it caught the attention of none other than Tom Brady, who was in the booth for FOX.
“That is what he does. He does not hesitate at all,” Brady said during the broadcast.
“Just buries his body into McKinney in this cold weather. Lucky, McKinney got him by the shoelace or that could've been much worse.”
That’s not just a compliment - that’s a quarterback who’s seen it all, recognizing something special in a young back’s toughness.
For Bears fans, it was a moment that hit different. Chicago has been searching for that kind of physical, punishing runner since David Montgomery left town.
Someone who doesn’t shy away from contact, but invites it. Someone who can set the tone - not just with speed or finesse, but with pure, unrelenting force.
Monangai’s been doing just that. All game long, he was lowering the boom on Packers defenders, one after another.
But this wasn’t just any defender - this was McKinney, one of the league’s best and most consistent safeties. And Monangai didn’t just go toe-to-toe with him; he won the battle.
That kind of physicality is contagious. It energizes a team.
It sends a message. And it’s exactly what this Bears offense has been missing.
Credit also goes to the offensive line, which has been steadily improving and gave Monangai the lanes he needed to work. But it was the rookie’s downhill, no-nonsense style that brought the edge. He’s not just running the ball - he’s bringing the fight to defenders.
In a game played in classic December conditions - cold, gritty, and unforgiving - Monangai looked like he was built for it. The way he dropped his pad level, the way he finished runs, the way he embraced the contact - it was a throwback performance in the best possible way.
For a Bears team still searching for identity under Ben Johnson’s guidance, Monangai might be carving out a key piece of it. He’s not flashy.
He’s not finesse. He’s just tough, physical, and relentless - and right now, that’s exactly what Chicago needs.