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Rivalries between two teams with contrasting styles is a rare sight in the NFL of today. When most organizations are (rightfully) centering around building high-powered offensive attacks with a merely capable defense, classic battles between opposites become a secondary thought. In a way, a clash of the modern Bears and Rams presents a tilt of a lost art.
The Bears’ identity is simple. Centered around a dominant defense, perhaps the best defense of the last half decade, Khalil Mack and company rarely have issues flexing their muscles on the myriad incompetence of quarterbacks in pro football. The Rams, meanwhile, focus on offensive matchups and their various exploitations. Head coach Sean McVay radioes in the perfect, ideal play to his quarterback Jared Goff and, most often, there’s a rewarding explosive flourish in return. One roster wins by suffocating offense’s, slowly. The other wins by overwhelming defense’s and their sensory systems, quickly. Different styles for different strokes with a similar amount of success.
And when these two squads have met over the last couple of seasons, the results have shown out as predictable tugs of war. What happens in a rubber match in Monday night on Los Angeles is anyone’s best guess. The only safe expectation for Bears-Rams 3.0 is more fireworks, more clutch play, and more tug and pull on one of the biggest stages around.
Windy City Gridiron’s staff picks for Bears-Rams (and every other NFL game this week).
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