Week 14 Friday Focus: Rams @ Bears

By: Peyton Schultze

The Rams travel to Chicago this week in a battle of NFC heavyweights.

Hi everybody, and a very pleasant Friday to you wherever you may be.

This week, the Los Angeles Rams (11-1) travel to The Windy City to take on the rising Chicago Bears (8-4) in a battle among NFC powers at Soldier Field (5:20 PM, NBC). After a hard fought win in Week 13 against the pesky Detroit Lions, the Rams look forward to this week against a solid Bears team led by a powerful defense, including star defensive player, Khalil Mack. The Rams find themselves coming into this game as winners of their last 3 games involving a slowly emerging defense and the consistent, yet dominant, play of the offense led by Jared Goff and Todd Gurley. With a young and emerging threat rising in the NFC with the Bears, the Rams can look into their mirror from last year and see similarities to themselves: a team that few analysts predicted to be a threat in the conference that was lead by upcoming superstars and a smart and young head coach. However, instead of Rams’ coach, Sean McVay, the Bears have found their young leader in Nagy, who comes over to Chicago from the branch of Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. By placing a strong focus on the offensive side with creative play calling featuring misdirection, screen plays, and quarterback movement, Nagy has taken the league by storm and the Bears have found themselves in a position that they have not seen in years: a potential Super Bowl contender. Already led by a great defense that ranks 11th against the pass and 2nd against the run (3rd overall), the Bears will pose a major threat this week to a Rams team that hopes to keep their grip on the #1 seed in the NFC and capture a first-round bye.

The leading rusher in the league, Todd Gurley (1,175 yards), will be a focal point for the Rams’ offense this week in the chilly conditions of Chicago.

The Rams figure to have a huge challenge with the Bears this weekend on Sunday Night Football, with many things that will not play in their favor. For one, Chicago’s home field advantage is slowly starting to emerge once again this season, as Bears’ fan have been loud and raucous for the 2018 season with the emergence of this team. The Rams, similar to their own position last year, will face a young team that feeds off their own emotional energy, led by their home fans, and will hope to put on a show under the lights of Sunday night. In fact, the Rams will also expect to face chilly temperatures this weekend with a projected forecast of around 24 degrees around kickoff. As a West Coast team that has rarely had to face cold environments with the elements potentially coming into play as well, the Rams will have a mighty challenge overcoming a tough situation. Another huge threat that the Bears pose is an offense featuring a lot of creativity, similar to that of the Chiefs from a few weeks ago. With a mobile quarterback and quick weapons on the outside to make plays down the field, the Bears have a dynamic offense that is able to create a lot of miscommunication and havoc on the defensive side of the ball. For example, see this call stirred up by Nagy in last week’s slugfest in New York on a 2 point conversion attempt to tie their game late in the 4th quarter:

However, last week’s game featured a less athletic quarterback in Chase Daniel, the backup QB tasked with replacing the injured, Mitchell Trubisky. This week, however, Trubisky, is expected to return to the starting lineup while recovering from a shoulder injury on his throwing arm. It is unknown how accurate Trubisky will be with his arm, but it can be guaranteed that he will try to make many plays with his legs against a shaky Rams defense at times. Trubisky has not always been elite as a thrower in his short, 2 year career thus far, but he has certainly proven to be a great running quarterback when needed to be. In fact, Trubisky has complied 363 rushing yards and three touchdowns so far this season, even with missing two games, and has certainly joined the QB conversation of elite runners along with Cam Newton, Dak Prescott, and Russell Wilson. If the Rams hope to stop the Bears’ O this week, they must not allow Trubisky to make scramble and make huge plays with his legs to shift the momentum of the game, like this elite play against New England earlier this year:

Yet Trubisky is not the primary player that the Rams must not allow to take over the game. That task relates to the dominant and potential future Hall of Famer, Khalil Mack. Traded right before the regular season began from the Oakland Raiders to the Bears, Mack has once again had a season for the ages for a pass rusher, featuring many game changing strip sacks and big plays to propel the Bears to victory (9.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FUMR). Along with Von Miller and the Rams’ very own, Aaron Doanld, there are few defensive players able to single handedly wreck a game for another team like Mack, something that he has accomplished time and time again. As hard of a cover as Mack is, the Rams have a solid counter in left tackle, Andrew Whitworth. Mack rushes from both sides of the ball, but the Rams should be able to at least hold him on the left side. One key thing that is apart of McVay’s playbook that is built to counter players like Mack are his tight formations close to the offensive line. In these bunch formations, wide receivers, such as Robert Woods and Josh Reynolds, often chip one of the pass rushers to throw him off of his rush to the quarterback before running their route down the field. With a player like Mack, expect the Rams to use tight formations to help Goff stay protected and cleanly throw the ball down the field. This Bears defense also feature big names players that have a knack for turnovers, such as Eddie Jackson and Akiem Hicks, so the Rams must be careful with the ball this weekend to pull of a nice road win against a tough Chicago football team.

Khalil Mack headlines a fiery defense that ranks among the NFL’s best.

Keys to the Game: Stop Tarik Cohen and Take Care of the Ball

One week ago, the Bears’ running back, Tarik Cohen, had himself quite a game. Cohen (30 rushing yards, 12 catches, 156 receiving yards, 1 passing TD) was used often in creative play calling by head coach, Matt Nagy. Cohen was given the ball in space and allowed to total a heavy amount of YAC (yards after catch) which damaged a vulnerable Giants’ defense. This week, the Rams defense must show up. After a promising game last week against Detroit, the Rams hope to devour the 5’9 Cohen and limit the Bears’ offense from creating big plays. The Rams have certainly be susceptible to big plays this season (see: Monday Night Football against Kansas City), but the return of corner, Aqib Talib, seemed to send a jolt into the Rams’ defense last week. If they can limit the speedy Tarik Cohen and limit big plays, the Rams will be in very good shape. On offense, the message is extremely simple this week: take care of the football. This Bears defense is ranked 3rd based on yards, but most people would agree that this is the best defense in the NFL based off their ability to create turnovers. Led by Mack and Hicks up front, and Jackson and corner, Kyle Fuller, in the secondary, the Bears’ formidable defense can create issues for this Rams offense. However, if Goff can be careful with the ball, yet move the ball down the field enough to get points, the Rams should be in good position. Gurley may struggle a bit based of his typical standard against a great run defense, but look for him to still be used a lot in the passing game. One player to watch for in this game in Brandin Cooks. As great as this Bears’ D is, they have still allowed a flux of big plays over the course of the season. As the Rams’ dynamic deep threat and speedy WR in the middle of the field, look for Goff to look towards Cooks a lot. McVay may even sprinkle in some designed screens and runs for Cooks, who could use his speed to create big plays in a day where there might not be a ton. One last thing to note: Goff has been born and raised in California, and Chicago will be freezing on Sunday. It will be key to note if Goff is uncomfortable throwing the football in the weather and if there is any chance that the cold or fans could affect this hot Rams’ offense. If it does, Goff could struggle on Sunday Night Football. If it does not, Goff could once again show off to a primetime audience why he is among the game’s great emerging stars against the best defense in the NFL.

Prediction: Rams (27) - Bears (20)

Aaron Donald and the Rams hope to capture their 12th win of the year.

This Bears team is certainly for real and one that is a true contender under Coach Nagy. However, the Rams will not look past them whatsoever and will put together their best defensive performance of the year. The two corners, Talib and Marcus Peters, will have a great night with a turnover apiece and Donald will once again pick up a few key sacks of Trubisky. The Rams offense won’t be amazing on Sunday Night in the cold depths of Chicago, but the Rams’ WRs, such as Woods and Cooks, will make a few huge plays to put points on the board for the Rams. This will not be the most glamorous win of the year for the Rams, but they will shake off any doubts of them being “soft” and pull another gritty and hard fought win on Sunday Night in The Windy City of Chicago, Illinois.