In Week 14, the Chicago Bears have been able to claim an impressive victory against the Los Angeles Rams. At 15:6 the Bears-D showed one of the best offenses of the league the limits and forced four interceptions from Jared Goff. But even Mitch Trubisky didn’t make a good impression. The game was decided by a brilliant moment.
Bears against Rams meant for many the great duel between defense and offense and the question whether elite defenses can still keep up with elite offense today. And whoever saw the first half had to say: Definitely! The Bears kept L.A. in the first three drives at a paltry 33 yards. And here we were already in the middle of the second quarter. That’s why Sean McVay felt compelled to reach into the bag of tricks.
But even a successful fake punt by Johnny Hekker only resulted in a drive, which ended in a field goal attempt. The Bears’ offense actually looked better there. Actually. Where the Bears drives were equipped with effective elements in the running game, Mitch Trubisky (16/30, 110 YDS, TD, 3 INT) was incredibly inconsistent in the passing game. The two interceptions of the Bears quarterback in the first run were horrendous Missed Throws. First he clearly threw over Josh Bellamy, then he threw the ball towards a completely covered Taylor Gabriel.
But since Jared Goff didn’t get the best day either, the match went well into the cabin. Goff was touched by Left Tackle Andrew Withworth, who lost his duel with Jonathan Bullard, in a throwing attempt. The fluttering ball landed in the hands of Roquan Smith. Goff’s last-second Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by Eddie Jackson.
Also in the second run the Rams-Offense was pulled the plug once. Bears-Lineman Eddie Goldman brought Goff to the ground in his own end zone and started the perfect start in session two. The Bears marched to 2 yards in front of the opponent’s end zone and suddenly brought five defensive players onto the field to play the third down. Tackle Bradley Sowell caught the Play Action Pass from Trubisky for a 15:6 lead.
But even this watschn did not wake up the rams. On the contrary. First there was a Three-and-Out, then both quarterbacks threw catastrophic interceptions again. And even in the kicking department, both crews left experiments unused. And since the Bears-Pass-Rush was able to exert constant pressure with four men on Goff (20/44, 180 YDS, 4 INT), who also threw a fourth interception, and Chicago’s linebackers outperformed him, the result was perfectly ok.
The Bears landed a statement success and with a balance of 9-4, they first set themselves apart from the Vikings. When it comes to playoff bye, you’d have to catch up with the rams and that doesn’t seem feasible anymore. L.A., on the other hand, has relinquished its leading position in the NFC to the Saints.
Behind a bear-strong D-Line the linebackers of the Bears also played excellently. They recognized screen plays incredibly fast and were excellent at tackling. Smith was an absolute bank against the run and in coverage and crowned his performance with the first pick of his career.
After a poor performance against the Lions, Goff played the worst game of his season against the Bears. Numerous inaccurate passes and discrepancies with the receivers. Goff threw passports into coverage and was to blame for at least three picks. Then he let too long against the effective 4-Men-Rush of the Bears time and was partly to blame for several sacks.
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