D'Andre Swift Served Notice About How Fumblers Will Not Be Tolerated

It quickly became apparent Bears running back D'Andre Swift fell into some disfavor Sunday with his third-quarter lost fumble.

Ben Johnson dealt with it quickly by pulling Swift from the game for the final three series and the Bears moved on behind the hard running of Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson.

Swift is going to need to wait at least until later this week before the Bears say anything about stepping right back into the starting lineup against the Packers on Sunday. Johnson left this all stew on Monday.

"Once again, we'll see what it looks like throughout the week," Johnson said. "Each role is determined through the week of practice."

It could all be a moot point if Monangai is unavailable. The prospect for his rapid recovery from a thumb injury sustained Sunday looks good, but is also uncertain.

"We think he’s going to be OK," Johnson said Monday. "So we’ll see what it looks like as we go through the week here, but more of a day-to-day type deal."

Love D'Andre Swift but another fumble? pic.twitter.com/h2qrVLcWOy
— Dave (@davebftv) October 4, 2026

Johnson made it clear how critical he felt the fumble was.

"That was really was going to hold us back as if we shot ourselves in the foot," he said. "And so we can't have it. Everybody on the team knows that, and it certainly it's a little bit of a buzzkill when you have a little momentum going. It feels like we're moving the football, second down I believe it was, and we're going to make it third and manageable. And you know, it's just, like I said, it's a credit to our defense being able to step in and stop the bleeding in a lot of ways. There's really no message that needs to be said to anybody.

"Nobody wants to put the ball on the ground. Nobody wants to turn it over. Nobody wants to drop the ball. You know, it's just, we all have to have short memories. We got to learn from it. And coaches, players, all of us, we're going to do some things that we don't like at times. Could be a bad play call on my end, could be a missed tackle by our defense. You know all those things. They happen. Learn from it and move on."

This didn't even get another look? Clear fumble pic.twitter.com/SEqnScVsYg
— Dave (@davebftv) October 4, 2026

Swift has done enough to aid the Bears' cause the past two seasons to be given some leeway, so don't anticipate he's headed for the bench. The speed threat he carries is something Johnson covets greatly with a back in the attack, and he is also a good pass blocker besides being a normally dependable ball carrier.

In his seven seasons, Swift has never had a bad fumble problem despite two in three games. He has fumbled 15 times total in 93 games played and lost seven, per Pro Football Reference.

Compared with Monangai, this is a terribly high number, though. Monangai, now in his second season, has never fumbled in college or the NFL.

If this is a case where Swift settles into a fumbling rut, there's no doubt Johnson would act quickly because Monangai has proven dependable enough and durable enough to handle the lead back's role, and did a good job of it against Cincinnati last year when Swift was injured.

HEY SWIFT FANBOYS LETS POLES COOK

2nd fumble in 2 weeks for swift BUM #dabears pic.twitter.com/Aj7Esr2qqi
— James (@DaaSweener) October 4, 2026

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