Running back Kyle Monangai was the last player to talk in the locker room following the Bears’ eye-popping 59-37 win against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

He scored the Bears’ longest touchdown on a day that Ben Johnson’s offensive machine churned out a whopping eight.

What did Monganai see on his 61-yard run right through the middle of Carolina’s defense?

“Great blocking,” he said. “(Receiver Luther Burden III) making a great block in there. I just kind of cut off him. I was able to keep my balance and it was kind of a track race.”

That touchdown isn’t scored without the tone-setting blocking from the Bears’ receivers. This is where this week’s takeaways column begins. 

1. The best way to understand (and appreciate) what Ben Johnson has built is by looking at how hard and how well his receivers block.

Monangai’s touchdown run featured three great examples. As he said, it started with Burden’s block on safety Tre’von Moehrig. Burden motioned into being Monangai’s lead blocker. Then came receiver Kalif Raymond’s crack block on defensive back Chau Smith-Wade. 

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