All good things must come to an end, and that includes the Bears winning every game on the road this year. During the team’s Monday night visit to Los Angeles, a combination of defensive penalties, flubs by Nick Foles and special teams mistakes led Chicago to lose—for only the second time this season, to be clear—to the Rams.
If that sounds familiar, that’s because losing to the Rams is indeed a repeat of 2019. And just like last year, Monday’s game was low-scoring and tough on the Bears defense, with QB Jared Goff’s offense dialing up plays a bit too quickly for Chicago to wrap their heads around.
Stop those scoring drives
The red zone has not been the best place for the Bears this year, both on offense and defense. During the game, the announcing crew shared that the Bears currently lead the NFL in allowing touchdowns in the red zone at a whopping 36 percent of attempts.That’s not what you want to see, especially when your team is struggling with putting points up on the other side of the ball. Defensive penalties, like the handful we saw on Monday, only help the other team move up the field, as well. Akiem Hicks himself had at least three defensive penalties, including one questionable false start call. But a penalty is a penalty.
You (in)complete me
Foles’ incapability to connect with his receivers is a mysterious situation, and I don’t know who to blame. Are the inaccurate, off-base passes his fault? Absolutely. If your receivers are open, find them. Notice the words “your receivers.” Foles threw two picks on Monday, one in the end zone and one just for fun.
But to be completely transparent, I don’t know how much Foles has control over deciding to go for it on the fourth down when you’re 20 yards away from half-field or electing not to call your last timeout before the half in hopes of getting the ball back. I haven’t quite figured out Nagy and Foles’ relationship yet, but I do know that they need to sit down and figure out the offense together. Otherwise, losing 10-24 isn’t going to look so bad.
Maddie’s Monster of the Game
Oof. Do I have to choose someone? I’m not being dramatic—the game was rough. Very well. If you’re a regular reader, then you know just how much I admire Chicago safety Eddie Jackson. In my opinion, he would be regularly touted as the best safety in the league if the rest of his defensive teammates were able to show up on a regular basis and make him look good.
Speaking of his teammates, with help from outside linebacker Robert Quinn, Jackson was able to recover a Rams fumble and run it in for the Bears’ only touchdown of the evening,
Divisional roundup
Well, we were at the top for a second, at least, but the most recent Green Bay Packers win bumped Chicago into second place. All we can hope for is that Green Bay loses again sometime soon. But when aren’t we hoping that, you know?
1st place: Packers (Won against the Houston Texans)
2nd place: Bears
3rd place: Lions (Won against the Atlanta Falcons)
4th place: Vikings (Bye week)
What’s new? New Orleans
Luckily, Chicago is at home this Sunday, and with New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas potentially down for the count, the Chicago defense may get the chance to take advantage of the reworked Saints offense, as long as Chicago cleans up their mistakes and attempts to put a damper on Drew Brees’ passing game. The game will be broadcast Sunday afternoon at 3:25 p.m. on Fox.
