Tag: Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams

Throwback Thursday: Bears defense stifles Rams on SNF at chilly Soldier Field

On this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’re taking a look back at one of the high points of the Matt Nagy career — Bears vs. Rams in 2018.

Every Thursday throughout the 2021 regular season, Bears Wire will take a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history that occurred on or near that given day.

December 9th, 2018: Bears defeat the Los Angeles Rams 15-6 in frigid weather

Matt Nagy had a memorable first year as the team’s head coach, winning 12 games to capture the NFC North division title. Of those 12 wins, however, the victory over the eventual NFC champion Los Angeles Rams might be the most impressive one. And for that, a lot of credit should go to former defensive coordinator Vic Fangio for neutralizing one of the most explosive offenses in the league that year.

The Rams visited the Bears for a Sunday night showdown in chilly temperatures. It was a far cry from the warmth of Los Angeles for the Rams and it showed, though they did get off to a hot start in the game. Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky threw his first of three interceptions on the opening drive, setting up the Rams in the redzone. But they felt the stifling Bears defense immediately and had to settle for three points.

Chicago responded with their own field goal drive, facing a Rams defense that was nearly as formidable as Fangio’s unit. The two teams were locked at 3-3 until Rams quarterback Jared Goff threw an ill-advised pick to linebacker Roquan Smith, setting the Bears up in prime scoring position. They would net another field goal to take the 6-3 lead, only to see the Rams match it and tie things up again. It was a defensive slugfest with neither team getting anywhere on offense. Interceptions by both teams finished out the half.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Bears needed to do something to break the stalemate and got a boost from both offense and defense. Los Angeles got the ball to start the second half and the Bears defense flexed its muscle. After dropping running back Todd Gurley for a five-yard loss, the Bears took down Goff in the endzone thanks to nose tackle Eddie Goldman to get a safety and the lead. Now it was the offense’s turn to wake up.

Trubisky connected with receiver Allen Robinson three times on the ensuing drive, while also getting contributions from running back Jordan Howard. They would score the game’s only touchdown when Nagy called “Santa’s Sleigh”, a trick pass play designed to go to lineman Bradley Sowell. He scored to make it a 15-6 ballgame, which would be enough to hold onto the win the rest of the way.

All in all, the Bears picked off Goff four times and limited the Rams to just 214 total yards on the day. Fangio put on a clinic on how to stop Sean McVay and his offense and the Bears got their ninth win of the year. Unfortunately, the Bears have played the Rams three more times since, all on the road, and have lost each one. Perhaps things change if the two teams meet again on the lakefront in the next year or so.

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Bears were only team in Week 1 that didn’t attempt a single pass beyond 15 yards

The Bears’ downfield passing game was nonexistent in Week 1. Chicago was the only team not to attempt a pass 15 yards downfield.

For the first time in awhile, the Bears offense wasn’t the worst unit on the field in Chicago’s 34-14 blowout loss to the Rams. While the offense established a balanced attack with David Montgomery and kept LA’s pass rush in check with quick, short passes, that was the extent of the Bears’ passing attack.

Chicago’s downfield passing game was nonexistent. Quarterback Andy Dalton completed 27-of-38 passes for 206 yards with one interception, but only five of those 38 pass attempts traveled at least 10 yards.

But, wait, it gets worse.

The Bears were the only team in Week 1 to not attempt a single pass 15 yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus.

Here’s Dalton’s pass chart for Week 1:

Even wide receiver Marquise Goodwin threw some shade about the Bears’ lack of a downfield passing attack against the Rams, which Goodwin said played right into what Los Angeles wanted.

“(Jalen Ramsey)’s a unique player, All-Pro, Pro Bowler, instinctive, especially in short spaces,” Goodwin said. “And us not running past 10 yards, that fell right into his hands I feel like.”

With head coach Matt Nagy coming under fire for his offensive game plan in Week 1, you’d expect the Bears will attempt more passes longer than 15 yards against the Bengals. Whether that translates to success remains to be seen.

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Matthew Stafford named NFC Offensive Player of the Week following win vs. Bears

Matthew Stafford was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after the Rams’ beatdown of the Bears in Week 1.

With Week 1 in the books, the NFL announced its players of the week among the NFC and AFC. And with the way the Los Angeles Rams delivered a beatdown of the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, it’s not a surprise to find quarterback Matthew Stafford among those honored.

Stafford was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his near-flawless performance against the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Stafford completed 20-of-26 passes (76.9%) for 321 yards and 3 touchdowns for a 156.1 passer rating, where he abused Chicago’s secondary all night.

Two of his touchdowns were longer than 50 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown to receiver Van Jefferson on their first offensive series to a 56-yard bomb to receiver Cooper Kupp on their opening possession of the second half.

The Bears will be looking to rebound when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, where they’ll face another impressive offense. But it doesn’t figure to be as explosive as this Rams offense was.

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Marquise Goodwin calls Bears’ lack of downfield plays in opener ‘challenging’

The Bears’ downfield passing attack was nonexistent against the Rams, which Marquise Goodwin explained was “challenging.”

The Bears’ downfield passing attack was nonexistent against the Rams, where a conservative plan with quarterback Andy Dalton consisted of short, quick passes and pounding the rock with running back David Montgomery.

Dalton didn’t complete a pass over 10 yards against the Rams (going 0-for-2 and an interception). His longest pass attempt was 16 yards, and only 5 of his 38 attempts were for 10 yards or more. Dalton had just one pass attempt travel more than 15 yards.

The complete lack of a downfield passing attack is shocking considering Nagy’s emphasis on opening things up with the additions of speedy weapons like Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd.

Goodwin, who led the Bears with 45 yards on four receptions, was asked about the team’s lack of downfield plays against the Rams.

“It’s challenging,” Goodwin said. “But I mean, you just got to work with what you get. I don’t control the plays that are called. I don’t control anything but just going out and doing my job, and I just do it the best that I know how: fast.”

Chicago’s game plan was clear: run the ball and throw quick, short passes to keep Aaron Donald and the Rams’ pass rush at bay. But it also benefited All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

“He’s a unique player, All-Pro, Pro Bowler, instinctive, especially in short spaces,” Goodwin said of Ramsey. “And us not running past 10 yards, that fell right into his hands I feel like.”

It sounds like a criticism of the offensive game plan, which was content to do the basics while relying on the defense to keep things close. Not exactly how you win football games in this day and age.

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Tashaun Gipson calls missed touch tackle on Van Jefferson the kind of play that ‘keeps you up at night’

Tashaun Gipson said he’ll be kept up at night by his failure to touch Van Jefferson down on the turf in the Bears’ Week 1 loss vs. Rams.

The Bears were embarrassed in the team’s season opener against the Rams, where their defense was the biggest liability for Chicago.

There were mistakes aplenty from the Bears defense, including missed tackles and broken coverages. But perhaps the most egregious error occurred in the first quarter when quarterback Matthew Stafford found wide receiver Van Jefferson, who beat Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, for a deep completion.

Jefferson should’ve been down around the 11-yard line, but neither Jackson nor Gipson had the awareness to touch him and Jefferson got right up and sprinted into the end zone for what went down as a 67-yard score.

When Gipson met with the media Tuesday at Halas Hall, it was the first question he had to address. Gipson couldn’t believe they screwed it up and said it’s the kind of play that “keeps you up at night.”

“Too much football IQ between Eddie (Jackson) and me to let that happen,” he said. “It won’t happen again as long as I’m employed by the National Football League.”

But in a 34-14 blowout loss, there’s usually more than one error, as evidenced by the broken coverage on Cooper Kupp’s 56-yard touchdown pass on the opening series of the second half.

Marqui Christian, who was covering Kupp in the slot, didn’t go with his man, and neither did Jackson nor Gipson, which left Kupp streaking wide open for the easy score.

“It was a brain fart on the secondary, myself included,” Gipson said. “I take ownership on that play. We all got to be on the same page.”

When it was time for the defense to watch film from that brutal loss, the mood was exactly as you’d expect.

“Film session was hard, it was tough,” Gipson said. “There was a lot of ugly plays out there.”

The Bears defense will be looking to turn things around in Week 2, when they face Joe Burrows and a Bengals offense that found success against the Vikings in Week 1.

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Bears RB David Montgomery is second in rushing yards through Week 1

Through one week of NFL action, Bears RB David Montgomery is the second leading rusher in the league with 108 yards.

Running back David Montgomery was the best player on the field for Bears in their 34-14 loss to the Rams in Week 1.

Chicago’s offense established a balanced attack with Montgomery, who cranked off 79 yards rushing and a score in the first half alone, including a beauty of 41-yard run on the Bears’ first offensive series.

Montgomery finished the game with 16 rushes for 108 yards — his third 100-yard rushing game in the last five regular-season contests dating back to 2020. Montgomery could’ve had more if not for the hole Chicago’s offense found themselves in late in the game.

Through one week of NFL action, Montgomery is the second leading rusher in the league, where he trails only Joe Mixon.

  1. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati – 127
  2. David Montgomery, Chicago – 108
  3. Eli Mitchell, San Francisco – 104
  4. Melvin Gordon, Denver – 101
  5. Damien Harris, New England, 100

Montgomery was nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week for his performance, where he’s up against the likes of Mixon and Gordon, who are also among the leading rushers.

Interestingly enough, the Bears will face the leading rusher in Mixon when Chicago host the Bengals on Sunday.

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Bears Week 1 snap counts: Justin Fields plays 5 snaps, Trevis Gipson gets 7 on defense

Before we put an exclamation mark on Week 1, here’s a breakdown of the Bears’ snap counts against the Rams.

The Chicago Bears dropped their season opener 34-14 to the Los Angeles Rams, where left the team faced with some concerns heading into Week 2.

Looking at the snap counts from Sunday’s loss, there were some surprises by the usage of some players. But, for the most part, it was what we expected heading into the season.

Before we put an exclamation point on Week 1, here’s a breakdown of the Bears’ snap counts against the Rams.

Some Bears and Rams fans got into fight following Week 1 game at SoFi Stadium

Some Bears and Rams fans got into an altercation following the Week 1 game at SoFi Stadium.

Sunday night marked the first game at SoFi Stadium with fans in attendance, where the Chicago Bears were dealt a 34-14 loss by the Los Angeles Rams. But it also marked the first fan brawl in the new stadium.

TMZ Sports obtained footage of Bears and Rams fans getting into an altercation following the game in the course of SoFi Stadium.

According to one witness, things got aggressive early in the game when they were sitting in their seats. Security stepped in and made fans change seats in an attempt to keep things in order.

But the fans ran into each other after the game inside the concourse, where the brawl then ensued with several punches being thrown. Security once again stepped in and broke up the fight.

Warning: This video contains foul language.

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Stock up, stock down from Bears’ Week 1 loss

From David Montgomery to Marqui Christian, here’s a look at whose stock is rising or falling after the Bears’ Week 1 loss against the Rams.

The Chicago Bears dropped their season opener 34-14 to the Los Angeles Rams, where they’re left to answer a slew of questions ranging from a declining defense to injury concerns at offensive tackle.

Now that the dust has settled, we’re taking a look at which players saw their stock rise and which players saw their stock dip during the win.

14 crazy stats from Bears’ Week 1 loss vs. Rams

Here are 14 crazy stats from the Bears’ brutal 34-14 loss to the Rams in Week 1.

The Chicago Bears opened the 2021 season with an embarrassing 34-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football, where it wasn’t Chicago’s offense that was the biggest disappointment.

The good news is the rest of the NFC North also lost, so the Bears are somehow tied for first place in the division with the Packers, Vikings and Lions. Small victories, right?

Here are 14 crazy stats from the Bears’ loss to the Rams in Week 1.