The Chicago Bears beat the New York Jets 23-12 at Soldier Field on Sunday by running the ball 54 times for 232 yards. That ground game left the Jets offense on the sideline for most of the afternoon.
The gap in volume was the whole story. Chicago ran 89 offensive plays to New York's 32 and piled up 34 first downs to the Jets' 7. New York committed 0 turnovers and still lost going away.
How It Happened
Chicago struck first late in the first quarter. Kyle Monangai ran in from 1 yard out with 23 seconds left, and Cairo Santos added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Jason Sanders got the Jets on the board with a 36-yard field goal midway through the second quarter. Chicago answered twice before the break. Santos hit a 30-yarder with 2:29 left, then another 30-yarder as the half expired.
Sanders trimmed the deficit with a 30-yard field goal at the 7:00 mark of the third quarter. The Bears responded with a 5-yard Monangai touchdown run with 2:26 left in the period to extend the lead.
Santos added a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth. The Jets answered less than a minute later, when Geno Smith found Isaiah Williams for a 58-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, and neither team scored again.
Key Performers
Kyle Monangai: 2 rushing TD (1 YD, 5 YD)
Cairo Santos: 3 field goals (30, 30, 21 YDS), 2 PAT
Geno Smith: 1 TD pass, 58 YDS to Isaiah Williams
Jason Sanders: 2 field goals (36, 30 YDS), 1 PAT failed
Monangai accounted for both Chicago touchdowns. Santos supplied the rest of the Bears' scoring with his kicks.
Team Totals
CHI Rushing: 54 ATT, 232 YDS, 4.3 YDS per carry
CHI Passing: 25-34, 260 YDS, 1 INT
CHI Total Offense: 492 YDS
NYJ Rushing: 14 ATT, 59 YDS
NYJ Passing: 8-15, 98 net YDS, 3 sacks for 21 YDS lost
NYJ Total Offense: 157 YDS
What It Means
The Bears move to 3-1, and the formula was simple. They kept the chains moving, converting 7 of 15 third downs and 2 of 3 fourth downs, and Jets penalties handed them 8 more first downs.
The margin could have been wider. Chicago reached the red zone 7 times but scored touchdowns on only 2 of those trips, and it gave the ball away twice. Those are the numbers to clean up, not the run game.
The Jets fall to 1-3. They went 0 for 7 on third down, reached the red zone twice without a touchdown, and were flagged 12 times for 76 yards. An offense that can't stay on the field and keeps backing itself up won't win many games, even without turning the ball over.
New York's defense spent nearly three quarters of the game on the field. An offense that managed so few snaps gave it little relief.