Bears

Bears’ rookie RB Kyle Monangai had a breakout performance in Week 9’s 47-42 win over the Bengals, recording 176 yards on 26 carries. Monangai said he felt the effects of his heavy workload following the game. 

“I didn’t realize it’s been a whole year since I’ve had a workload that heavy, really since college,” Monangai said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “I think my body was just in shock of the whole thing. I know I can take hits and my body bounces back recovery-wise. I know my body well enough to do that, but it definitely hurt.”

Monangai’s college coach, Rutgers HC Greg Schiano, said the running back had to work his way to the starting role. 

“When we had Ray Rice, Day 1, I said, ‘That’s our guy,'” Schiano said. “That certainly wasn’t the case with Kyle. He worked his way into that role. It was strength and conditioning, learning the game. And I just think he has an incredible competitive spirit. Incredible. Everybody says they’re a competitor. Some people are more competitors than others.”

Bears RBs coach Eric Bieniemy said Monangai is fast enough and has the attitude to be a successful running back in the NFL. 

“He’s fast enough,” Bieniemy said. “He is definitely fast enough to get the job done. A part of that, too, is because of the attitude and the determined mindset that he has within him to put that on display. That’s just a part of his makeup.”

• Bears DE Austin Booker was fined $5,818, and S Kevin Byard was fined $23,186 for unnecessary roughness for use of the helmet.
• Bears CB Kyler Gordon was designated to return from injured reserve on Wednesday. When asked about how Gordon affects CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, HC Ben Johnson said  Gardner-Johnson is a player “we’re going to want on the field,” via Courtney Cronin. 
• Bears QB Caleb Williams has previously praised the way veteran QB Aaron Rodgers plays the game. Johnson said Williams doesn’t get the ball out as fast as Rodgers, but thinks it will come as they develop their offense: “Um, yeah, I’d probably, probably not right now. You know, I think he’s (Rodgers) elite right now at getting the ball out of his hands. I think he’s got the, if he doesn’t have the fastest snap to throw time in the league right now, he’s got to be close. So, he’s doing a really good job of spinning it out, he’s accurate. You know, I think our guy is the same way, but we probably hold on to it a little bit more. Just where we are in the offense, as we are learning and growing, I think we will gravitate more towards getting it out faster the more reps we have. But, yeah, the guy has done it like I said at a high level for a long time, so it’s a good guy to look up to.” (Nicholas Moreano)

Lions

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had just two receptions on 12 targets in Week 11’s loss to the Eagles. Detroit QB Jared Goff took the blame for St. Brown’s lack of production, saying he needs to be more accurate when the receiver is in space. 

“I don’t think anything feels off, except for this past week I was off trying to get him the ball,” Goff said, via ProFootballTalk. “He’s playing well. I’ve got to find ways to get it to him in space and be more accurate in those instances. I have been in my career so it’s not something I’m worried about. Last week was a little bit off and prior to that I don’t think there’s been any issue.”

Vikings

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler note it doesn’t seem like the Vikings are seriously considering giving QB Max Brosmer a look despite QB J.J. McCarthy‘s struggles. Brosmer is the No. 2 quarterback and has impressed behind the scenes but he’s still a rookie undrafted free agent. 
• They add the general sense from Minnesota is that McCarthy just needs time and reps to work through his struggles at the moment, especially his inconsistent accuracy. 
• McCarthy on learning new mechanics: “It’s very new. Coming in here, I was taught how to play quarterback in a very different way. And that’s expected going into the league, going into any new team, any new system, but at the end of the day, it was really just the injuries that I felt like, took away all those reps to make those a habit and make them concrete.” (Goessling)