The Chicago Bears entered the “Monday Night Football .L” with one of the NFL’s best records, not to mention the NFL’s excellent top spot. They leave prime time in a very different position. Despite every defense effort to get literally more points than Matt Nagy’s offense in Los Angeles, the Bears had almost no answer for Sean McVeigh’s Rams off Week 7, with Jared Goff, Darrell Henderson, owner Olm Brown and the rest of the team heading for a 24-10 victory. To improve to 5-2 and raise all sorts of questions about Chicago’s position among NFC contenders.
Nick Falls was once again under pressure like a bear quarterback, but he didn’t favor his reaction, throwing a pair of premature interceptions to help seal Ram’s big win. Coming down 5-2, Chicago Green is second behind the Bay Packers in the North, while Los Angeles has successfully maintained momentum with its competitive NFC West rivals with wins.
Here are some immediate takeovers from Monday’s contest:
Why Ram won
One night when the Bears paid close attention to the game’s top defense, LA’s own “D” swam right up when ex-bear Leonard Floyd put a third-bottom bag with a key, a clutch with a Taylor RPP and an end-zone interception and Aaron Donald and D-Line. , But David presents Montgomery as a non-factor for many evenings. On the other side of the ball, Jared Goff occasionally threatened to throw himself on the fan, but mostly Sean McVeigh’s varied ground play, as well as Darrell Henderson, owner Brown, and Robert Woods all churn out plays. The Rams needed to catch the ball to wear down the Chicago defense, and with the progress of the night in particular they did just that. Defending for a goal from Khalil Mack to a near-lost Afmal by Goff and a blocked field goal in the fourth, the Rams were very much in control from start to finish. Punter Johnny Hacker also had fun, pinning a lot of kick in the Chicago area at the end of the match.
Why did the bears lose
Nick Falls looked a lot more like a backup than a hero. He got barely any help from his off-line or run game, where David Montgomery was limited to just a few decent runs. Coach Matt Nagy is arguably entitled, if not more, to blame for his decision – such as refusing to call a timeout and possibly at the end of the first half, or the next line pitch de ord- or-die fourth-one-on-cordlele Patterson. But nothing like the QBB game swings, and while Falls seemed comfortable working out of the no-huddle for a while and constantly giving deep deep shots to his width, he did very little, very late, due to an ugly end-zone. Mostly thankful third and numerous others chuck-pull-and-pull in prayer. Defensively, Chicago felt ferocious on multiple drives, clearly dominating the trench and then willing to argue again with the team with a late score, but was ultimately overwhelmed by the inability to sustain a furious momentum on many offenses.
Turn
Second down. Ball Bear on Rams’ nine-yard line. Chicago made just five solid plays, including a no-huddle attack inside the Falls Red Zone and threatening to cut LA’s lead by more than half to seven points in the third quarter. Falls then pushed one to the back corner of the end zone, firing a ball to Darnell Mooney, despite double coverage from Troy Hill and Taylor Rapp. After the tip, Rita took him to the sidelines, hitting the otherwise promising Bear Drive (probably the best of the night) and sealing the Los Angeles win in the final quarter.
Play the game
For a night where crime doesn’t hit a lot of explosive plays, give this one to an app that kept its feet on the boundary to secure a game-changing choice in the final zone:
What’s next
The Bears (-2-9) will face another tough test in Week Week, when they will host the New Orleans Saints (-2-9), who will have a close victory over their rival Panthers. Meanwhile, the Rams (-2-2) will collide on the road to the Miami Dolphins (-3–3), starting the Tua Tagoviloa era with an ET kickoff at 1 p.m.
