Oh, what a relief it is! No, not the effervescent tabs you drop in a glass of water and chug when your body is ailing. We are talking about the Chicago Bears winning a football game in week 4, and looking much improved. The Bears were able to play complimentary football effectively for the first time this season. Special teams and defense were amazing and the much-maligned offense appeared to have figured it out.
Inside the Offensive Stats
The score and stats appear to be close in the week 4 matchup at Soldier Field between the Chicago Bears and the LA Rams. But when you look deeper, the Chicago Bears separated themselves in several key stat categories in this battle. The one that leaps out upon first glance is the passer rating difference between the Super Bowl Champion QB for the Rams, Matthew Stafford, and Chicago Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams.
Matthew Stafford posted an above-average passer rating of 77.4, and Caleb Williams scored a career-high 106.6. Caleb Williams did not complete many long throws down the field, but he has now increased his completion percentage for the fourth straight week, posting almost 74% completions against the Rams. Stafford threw for more yards, but had no touchdowns and accounted for two turnovers. Caleb played a clean game with one touchdown and no turnovers. Both QBs took three sacks on the day.
The Chicago Bears also played better in the running game than their opponent for the first time this season. The Bears churned out 131 yards and two touchdowns on the ground this week. The Rams had a pretty good day on the ground against the Bears front seven, posting 119 yards and one touchdown running the football. Kyren Williams dominated RB touches for the Rams, as did D’Andre Swift for the Bears.
Chicago Bears RB D’Andre Swift played terribly in the previous two games, but he finally met his pre-season expectations against the Rams. Swift went off for 93 yards rushing with a touchdown, and 7 catches on 7 targets for 72 yards receiving. Swift had multiple explosive plays in the 4th quarter, posting a 36-yard touchdown run and a 27-yard reception on a screen pass to help secure a Chicago Bears victory.
DJ Moore finally caught his first touchdown of the 2024 Chicago Bears campaign, with a 9-yard snag in the back of the endzone on a dime from Caleb Williams. RB Roschon Johnson filled in for Swift as the bruiser between the tackles, picking up a few big 1st downs for the Bears, and scoring his first touchdown this season on a 1-yard plunge in the second quarter.
Chicago Bears’ Star Defenders
Starting safety Jaquan Brisker was an absolute menace on Sunday against the Rams. Brisker recorded a team-high 12 total tackles. He also had the game-sealing interception, two tackles for loss, one sack, one pass defended, and another hit on Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford. Chicago Bears DE Montez Sweat was a monster with two total tackles, one pass batted down, one sack, one tackle for loss, one QB hit, and a forced fumble. Starting DT Gervon Dexter Sr. added a couple of total tackles, one sack on Stafford, a tackle for loss, and two QB hits.
Ultimately, the Chicago Bears’ defense played well together. They bent at times, but never broke and always stepped up when it mattered. Any member of the Chicago Bears defense would tell you that they gave up too many total yards to the Rams’ offense which earned 322 against them. The Rams had a balanced attack, as will the Carolina Panthers who travel to Soldier Field next week to play the Bears. The Bears need a focused week of practice to find ways to eliminate the chunk yardage they’ve allowed the past few weeks.
Final Thoughts on Bears Win
The Chicago Bears needed a win worse than any team in the NFL. They accomplished that and highlighted several areas of drastic improvement. It’s time to build upon that improvement with another home game in week 5 against a struggling opponent. The Carolina Panthers are a team that the Bears should beat. To comfortably do that, the Bears need to improve on 3rd down conversions, where they are only 33% on the season, and DRASTICALLY need to cut down on penalties of which they had 10 for 84 yards in week 4.
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