The Chicago Bears (4-5) and Los Angeles Rams (5-4) will face-off in a rematch of last season’s primetime matchup. Heading into that game, both teams were sure-fire playoff contenders destined to win their division.
That isn’t the case this season, where the Bears and Rams are both struggling due in large part of their offenses. So Sunday’s matchup looks to be another defensive showing — hopefully with a result the Bears can duplicate from a year ago.
Here are four storylines to watch as the Bears face the Rams on Sunday:
1. Can the Bears pull off the upset?
While the Bears and Rams head into Sunday’s primetime matchup with struggling offenses, the Rams are favored by 6.5 points in what’s either going to be a neutral field or a Bears crowd in Los Angeles.
The game will feature two defensive powerhouses in Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald, who will each be looking to get the best of opposing quarterbacks Jared Goff and Mitchell Trubisky, respectively.
But this is a winnable game for the Bears. They haven’t forgotten that in Week 14 last season they came out on the national stage and shutdown the Rams’ high-powered offense, in a 15-6 victory that defined their season. The question is: Can they make a similar statement? Only instead of declaring they’re a force in the NFC, it would be a statement that they’re not dead yet in the playoff race.