The Chicago Bears still lead the NFL in rushing. That makes it easy to miss what has happened over the last three games.

The Bears have won the last two games anyway. Caleb Williams threw for more than 300 yards against both Atlanta and New England, and Chicago scored 31 and 30 points. But Monday’s trip to Seattle will test how comfortable the offense is when it cannot rely on those passing numbers.

Kyle Monangai’s absence changed the backfield

The three-game dip began when Kyle Monangai left the lineup with a toe injury. His last appearance was against the Jets, when he rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. At the time, Johnson said the toe problem was more serious than the team had initially thought and described the running back as week to week.

It would be too simple to assign every lost rushing yard to Monangai. The Bears fell behind early in Green Bay, and game flow can change how often a team runs. Their opponents’ blocking and play calls have varied across the three games, too.

Still, the timing matters. Monangai gives Chicago a different runner to pair with D’Andre Swift and lets Johnson distribute carries across the game. Roschon Johnson has taken on more work in his absence, while the Bears signed Zavier Scott to the active roster this week. That is a change from the backfield combination that helped establish the league-leading average.

Swift remains productive, but the recent games show how much the Bears are asking of him. He ran 22 times for 78 yards and a touchdown against New England. The veteran has not reached 100 rushing yards in a game since his 124-yard opener against Carolina.

That does not mean Swift must produce a 100-yard performance in Seattle, but it certainly does mean Chicago needs more runs that keep the offense on schedule, whether those yards come from Swift, another back or Williams.

Seattle will make patience expensive

Williams has already identified the challenge posed by Seattle’s elite defense. At his Wednesday press conference, he said the Seahawks limit deep plays, forcing an offense to stay patient, accept shorter gains and protect the football. Johnson noted that Seattle can affect the quarterback with four rushers, allowing more defenders to remain available against the pass.

A reliable running game would give the Bears another way to answer that approach. It could create manageable downs, prevent Seattle from focusing solely on Williams and give Johnson more freedom to choose when to attack downfield.

The opposite outcome would put a great deal on the quarterback. Williams has played well since returning from his hamstring injury, but asking him to repeatedly convert long-yardage situations against this defense is a difficult plan. Johnson also warned Wednesday that penalties have hurt Chicago in recent games. A holding call becomes even more costly when the offense is already struggling to gain steady yards on the ground.

There is another adjustment coming: Cole Kmet’s season-ending injury removes a dependable blocker from an offense that uses its tight ends in several ways. Rookie Sam Roush is set for more playing time, and Johnson has mentioned the possibility of using Ozzy Trapilo as a sixth lineman in some formations. Neither option has yet shown how it will affect the run game over a full contest.

The number to watch is smaller than 154

Chicago does not need to match its season rushing average to beat Seattle. A few timely gains could be more valuable than a large total built after the game is decided. Watch what happens on early downs and after a Bears penalty: can the offense run well enough to give Williams choices on the next play?

That is the question hidden beneath the league-leading ranking. The Bears built an excellent rushing attack over the opening month, then won two games while getting less from it. Against Seattle, they will find out whether the recent decline was a temporary stretch or a problem they need to solve.