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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – D’Andre Swift has 24 carries as a Chicago Bear, with only 48 yards to show for it. Quick (and thankfully easy) math states that’s only 2.0 yards per carry, less than half his career average.

The crazy part about those numbers: 20 of his 48 yards came on one run. And seven of his 24 carries have been for negative yards.

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The star running back surely hoped for a better start to his Chicago tenure after signing a three-year, $24 million contract to join the Bears this offseason. While Swift has had bad games before – all running backs have – he had a tough time recalling a drought like this.

“Not like this, no,” Swift said. “But I’m going to be better. That’s how I look at it. There’s nothing else to do but work to be better.”

Such struggles are unusual for a back of Swift’s caliber and a clear source of frustration. He doesn’t push that aside, though. He uses it as fuel.

“How do I guard against frustration? I take it on,” Swift said. “Success hasn’t really been there so far on offense, in the run game especially. It’s something that I don’t take lightly. I’m just gonna get back to work and focus on ways that I can be better.”

Swift said time and again during a Thursday media session that he’s accountable for the Bears’ inability to run the ball well. While that’s a sign of good leadership, it’s also not all on him. Not by a long shot.

He’s getting swarmed quickly, most times before he reaches the line of scrimmage, with no chance to make a play. The Bears have a blocking issue and a coordination problem. Overall, it’s just not in sync. While Swift is good making people miss, he can’t fix all these run-game issues with slashes and cutbacks.

The Bears are averaging 3.5 yards per carry overall, and just 2.48 yards per carry when Caleb Williams scrambles or off-schedule runs are taken out of the equation. That’s nowhere close to good enough.

Running well is an 11-man effort. That hasn’t been right to this point. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been tasked with getting it there in a hurry.

“I think it comes back to our fundamentals, our belief in the basics,” Waldron said in a Thursday press conference. “Starting up front where we are hitting our blocks, we’re staying in phase, we are in a good rhythm with the backs, and that includes the tight ends and the receivers.

“For us on offense, our offense as a whole each week getting better and improving in every single area. Obviously, the run game is something every single week that we want to be able to lean on. So we got to be able to get that going. Through great fundamental work and the practice preparation, I feel like we are heading in the right direction.” 

There’s a golden opportunity to right the ship over the next few weeks. On Sunday the Bears will face the Indianapolis Colts, who have allowed 237 rushing yards and a 5.1-yard average over the first two games.

The Bears play the L.A. Rams (197 rushing yards allowed) and the Carolina Panthers (199.5 rushing yards allowed), in that order, over the following weeks. The Bears previous opponents, the Titans and Texans, are top 10 units. Where that’s based on talent or the benefit of playing the Bears remains to be seen.

There should be a better opportunity, however, to get the run game going starting on Sunday in Indy.

“Knowing the past stats, they help you maybe lean on something or another based on the film study there,” Waldron said. “…For us, it just goes back to focus on ourselves. Focus on our fundamentals, hit the blocks the correct way, and we’ll be rolling.”

The tape suggests that the Bears aren’t that far off from improvement in the ground game.

“What I notice is that it just looks like one guy or two guys are shooting ourselves in the foot and then we’re just kind of taking turns,” left tackle Braxton Jones said. “I know as an O-line, we talk about being all in the same rhythm and that just starts with getting to the ball fast, being able to get our calls out and then ripping the runs and just being better technically.”

Everyone who discussed the Bears rushing attack this week believes the personnel on this roster is capable of running the ball well and doing so consistently. That includes quarterback Caleb Williams, who said the Bears are so close to breaking out in that aspect of the offense.

“(It’s about) having confidence and keeping steadfast with that,” Williams said, “With running backs, receivers, tight ends, everybody having confidence that we are going to break through and figure out exactly what our personality is of the run.”

Swift talked about being near perfect in his reads, about making the right choices and making everyone around him better. While he has been frustrated with his production, his excitement about the next opportunity was clear, as he and the entire offense are working diligently to get the run game right.

“It’s challenging not having success, 100 percent, especially with the caliber of people we have,” Swift said. “It’s a great opportunity because it’s the next game, another chance. We have to come to work every day and find new ways to get better. That’s all we can focus on.”

Follow Bears Insider Scott Bair on X (@ScottBairNFL) and Instagram (@ScottBairNFL). Also, Bair Mail is coming! Join the conversation by submitting a mailbag question or comment to mailbag@marqueesportsnetwork.com for a chance to be included in this new content series.