NFC Game Of The Week
Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears
Rams: In week 13, they became the first team in the league to clinch their division title and now have 11 wins, the most in the league. As I said last week when I released my power rankings, each win for the Los Angeles Rams is so crucial at this point because the New Orleans Saints have the head to head tie breaker over them after beating them back in week eight. Ever since Cooper Kupp’s season came to an unfortunate end, it’s been a team effort to replace him and it’s tough to fill the shoes of a guy who’s such a consistent chain mover. Brandin Cooks is such an underrated wide receiver that doesn’t get enough credit. Last Sunday in Detroit, he became the first wide receiver in NFL history to record three 1,000-yard seasons with three different teams. He’s made his moves around the league. He was drafted by the Saints and spent a few years with one legendary quarterback, in 2017, the Saints traded him to the Patriots and he got the opportunity to play with the greatest quarterback of all time and this off-season, the Rams acquired him because they needed a true number one wide out and he’s given them just that along with a veteran presence down the field for Jared Goff. Their defense has been inconsistent at times outside of Aaron Donald who singlehandedly shreds offensive lines by himself, but what about everyone else? You can’t just depend on one guy to do it all because when he’s been double teamed, they’ve struggled to stop anyone. Yes, they won that big game against the Chiefs a few weeks back, but who could really be happy about it when you gave up 51 points? They will need to tighten up some things and maybe what we saw on Sunday against the Lions was a sign of improvement. The Rams will look to become the first team in the league to 12 wins on Sunday night when they travel to Chicago to face the Bears.
Bears: With Mitchell Tribusky out again because of the shoulder, Chase Daniel got another start on Sunday in East Rutherford against the New York Giants. The game-plan was simple for him and the Bears offense: Hand the ball off, connect with your receivers and most importantly manage the clock along with not turning the ball over. I don’t think Chase got the memo about taking care of the ball because he threw two interceptions. That was one of the sloppiest games I’ve seen the Bears play in a while in both phases. Offensively, they seemed to force things which resulted in the interceptions and defensively, they struggled to limit the big play of Saquon Barkley which many teams haven’t been able to do and the intensity wasn’t there as it has been for most of the season. I sometimes feel that the Bears are a little too reliable on forcing turnovers but as a defense, you must do several things to make stops. Despite the loss, the Chicago Bears are still on top of the NFC North at 8-4 with four games remaining on the schedule and remain in a good position to win the NFC North for the first time since 2010. I have so much respect for these offensive weapons and how Matt Nagy has been able to open the playbook, so they can all play their games. Anthony Miller has been a consistent force for them all year, Allen Robinson has stepped it up and become a nice weapon for Tribusky, Trey Burton has been another nice addition, then, there’s the tandem of Howard and Cohen at running back. They’ll look to bounce back on Sunday night against the Rams.
Rams Player To Watch– Aqib Talib: He returned to the field on Sunday against the Lions and his presence makes all the difference. He’s still one of the best corners in the NFL and he can limit your best offensive weapon and force you to throw the ball in the opposite direction.
Bears Player To Watch– Tarik Cohen: He’s the igniter of the Bears offense and their “Mr. Everything”. He can run the football, he’s reliable on special teams and he’s an added weapon in the passing game and that’s where he will come in handy on Sunday night against these safeties and linebackers of the Rams in space.
Final Analysis: We should be in for a treat with this one. This will feature two of the three best teams in the NFC flexed into the primetime game. This game will also feature two of the best defensive players in our game in Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack who are both the two best defensive players in the NFC. This will be one of the better defenses that the Rams will have faced all year long. I see Gurley being used more in the passing game because the Bears will be ready to shut down the run. For the Bears, I’m attacking the Rams linebacking core with quick passes over the middle. Trisbusky must take care of the football.
Prediction: Bears 23 Rams 21
