By Steve Rhodes
Now that was a victory!
After eeking out three wins against crappy teams this season by less than a cumulative touchdown to go with their four predictable losses, the Bears finally looked like a professional football team Sunday in stomping all over a mediocre St. Louis Rams team having a very bad day.
And while the sad performance of said opponent would usually call for tempering any enthusiasm about a Bears victory, this time they did what a good team does and stepped on the Rams’ neck. Bravo.
The big plays were huge YACs – yards after the catch.
Zach Miller caught a 2-yard pass and ran 85 yards more for a touchdown, and Jeremy Langford caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and, well, ran about 85 yards for a touchdown. That was literally all the Bears needed, given that they only gave up 13 points to Todd Gurley and Co.
Of course, Gurley’s relative absence from the Rams’ offensive game plan was the day’s biggest mystery.
Stat of the game? The #Bears defense has held #Rams rookie sensation Todd Gurley to 12 carries for 45 yards to this point.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) November 15, 2015
Yay, the Bears held Gurley to 12 carries! With double the carries, Gurley gets 100 yards and keeps the game close. So more credit there to the Rams’ boneheadedness than to the Bears’ run defense.
The Bears also had a good thing going with Rams quarterback Nick Foles:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Foles Struggles In Embarrasing Loss To #Bears – https://t.co/ubbBABFWrK
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
And just to splash a little more cold water on Bearsmentum before returning to the positive side of the slate, consider:
Just FYI, the #Bears have yet to beat a winning team.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
#Bears four wins have come against opponents who are 14-22.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
#Bears five losses have come against opponents who are 25-19.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
3 of 7 remaining #Bears games come against winning opponents.
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
To that last tweet, 7-9 now seems doable. I’m not yet prepared to say .500 is in reach, though given that the next two opponents, Denver and Green Bay, suddenly appear vulnerable, well, who knows.
I will caution that the Bears would probably rather see Peyton Manning at QB this week than backup Brock Osweiler at this point, but Osweiler it almost certainly will be.
And the Packers the following week will be coming off a game in Minnesota which will mark either their fourth consecutive loss or their bounce-back into first-place; either way, they’ll be hungry for Bear.
But the main point is that for the first time this season, the Bears looked like a real professional football team. Now we find out if Brock Osweiler is a real professional quarterback.
Arch Commentary
* Jim Thomas, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Rams Embarrass Themselves Against Bears.
* Nick Wagoner, ESPN: Foles May Not Be The Answer.
Deadspin Bears
* Martellus Bennett Roasts The Rams.
* NFL To Investigate Chicago Bears For Failing To Disclose Full Injury Report To Media.
Bears Twitter
#Bears o-line is playing well, but still needs to get Grasu back to slide Slauson over to LG. Ducasse continues to struggle. #Week10Rewind
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 16, 2015
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Zach Miller looked up at the videoboard and knew exactly when to make a move away from that last tackler. #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 15, 2015
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Kyle Long was not fined for whatever he said to umpire Roy Ellison in Monday’s game. Probably means he shouldn’t have been flagged. #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) November 13, 2015
Kyle Long, everybody.
Kyle Long to media on way into locker room: ‘Anyone pick the #Bears? Didn’t think so’
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) November 15, 2015
Besides the fact that some local writers actually did pick the #Bears, Kyle Long can suck donkey balls. What a dick. https://t.co/omhJmF7VDi
— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) November 16, 2015
*
This was in the first quarter with the Rams up 10-7.
Could be the ballgame right here? Stop the Rams maybe Bears hang all day. Rams go length of the field it’s over.
— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) November 15, 2015
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The last time the #Bears and #Blackhawks won road games in the same town was Dec. 11-12, 2006 — Bears 42-27 vs.Rams; Hawks 3-2 vs. Blues.
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) November 15, 2015
Posted on November 16, 2015