Bears offense finds some identity in victory over Rams
The Bears took care of business on Sunday defeating a good — albeit hobbled — Los Angeles Rams team, 24-18, at Soldier Field.
The defense contained a dynamic Rams offense led by head coach and offensive guru Sean McVay, holding them to 322 total yards and just 18 points. They also took the ball away from veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford twice in the game.
The secondary, per usual, was active and chippy. Jaquan Brisker had a particularly good day, leading the team in tackles (12) and tackles for loss (2), and tying for the team lead in passes defended (1) and sacks (1). He also had a quarterback hit and the game-clinching interception.
Montez Sweat made his presence felt in this one as well with a timely strip sack that led to the Bears’ first touchdown of the game.
Offensively, the Bears played their most sound game of the season. Caleb Williams had just 157 yards passing but was an efficient 17-of-23 with a touchdown and no turnovers. He threaded a perfect touchdown pass to the back of the end zone to D.J. Moore.
Running back D’Andre Swift also had his most productive — or only productive — game as a Bear. He rushed 16 times for 93 yards and a touchdown while also leading the team with 7 catches for 72 yards. And the Bears went away from their proclamation of Khalil Herbert being the team’s goal line back and correctly inserted the hard-nosed Roschon Johnson into that role in this one.
Roschon scored the Bears’ first points of the game on a 1-yard plunge into the end zone — following the lead block of backup center Doug Kramer, who lined up as a fullback — and he also picked up a much-needed first down late in the fourth quarter as they tried to run out the clock.
I want to be careful about drawing this corollary because it will make it sound like Williams is the primary reason for the team’s two losses, but in the Bears’ two victories this season, the rookie quarterback had zero turnovers. In the team’s two losses, he had five.
Obviously, his turnovers were part of the reason the Bears lost to the Texans and Colts. But don’t be fooled into thinking he was the main problem. We already know the offensive line — specifically Cole Kmet as an extension of that unit — was responsible for Williams’ fumble against the Colts. And the more I watch the play, the more I think Rome Odunze had as much to do with Williams’ second interception of the Indianapolis game as the quarterback himself.
However, with all that being said, those turnovers do play an important factor into the game and I was pleased to see Williams keep the ball out of harm’s way on Sunday against the Rams.
I continue to see signs of comfort for the young quarterback, which is particularly impressive for not only a rookie, but one who is also playing behind one of the worst offensive lines I’ve seen in recent memory. He seems unflappable back there as evidenced by the touchdown to Moore in which the pocket was rapidly closing in on him. I feel as though Bears quarterbacks of the past would have long since bailed in such tight quarters instead of standing in the tightening pocket and delivering a perfect strike.
As long as Williams continues to grow and get comfortable with the timing with his receivers and with the play calls from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron — who called a much better game plan against the Rams than he did in the three prior games — I think we can expect the big plays and the offensive success to continue to grow throughout the season.
And maybe by the time divisional play comes around, the Bears will have all three phases clicking in order to make a run at the postseason.