Wide-eyed Bears visit LA, leave with their dreams crushed after 24 to 10 loss

I entered this game with high hopes for my 5 and 1 Chicago Bears facing up against a team that hadn’t beat anyone outside the NFC East. This wasn’t a roller coaster of a game. This was a knife in your back tire and a slow relentless flattening as the air hisses its way into the abyss. Only in this case the tire is my gut, and the air is hope.

Here’s the box score. Cool.

If you thought this was going to be a defense-soaked, field-position slug-fest

The first two drives certainly reinforced that expectations. The Bears stuck it to the Rams by punting to the 10 yard line, only to be one-upped by a Ram punt to the 6. The Bears then responded by punting it all the way to the ... 46?

Two third downs. Two passes to Patterson well behind the sticks...

Not too bad. Not too bad. But let’s switch it up with a pass behind the sticks to Darnell Mooney next drive.

Sometimes too many Bears winning their pass rush is a problem

On the play that Akiem Hicks was flagged for paws to the face, which the Rams decline presumably because they knew it was bogus, Hicks wasn’t able to get the sack because another Ram lineman had been pushed back in front of Goff by another dominating Bear. Quite tragic.

Holy goodness is that Cole Kmet?!

When Foles launched a yolo ball deep to the left as Aaron Donald swatted wildly at his ankles, I didn’t think it would be caught. I also didn’t dream it would be targeting Cole Kmet, who scooped it away from the defender draped over him and then followed it up with a 7 yard contest catch encore.

Here’s the thing about running the ball into Aaron Donald’s face

They won’t expect it, so it has to work, right? And then nobody would expect you to do it again after it didn’t work the first time? And those second and third and fourth times are clearly just a perfect set-up for that huge 5th time when you do it against soft coverage in garbage time and get a solid 6 yard run to make it all worth it?

Why is Kyle Fuller letting Josh Reynolds beat him?

I’m not mad. I’m just confused. Ok. I’m also disappointed.

I respect the Bears going for it at 4th and 1/2

I think they got it too, despite the cute little jokes the announcers made. Of course Rashaad Coward had an understandable false start. Anything a D3 defensive tackle does in a game where he’s asked to block Aaron Donald is allowed in my book.

In a game Staley Da Bear isn’t allowed to travel to, former Bears outside linebacker’s coach Brandon Staley was scheming up trouble for the Bears offense

Probably not technically ironic, but I’m sure Alanis Morissette would allow it.

Leonard Floyd would get a sack two sacks in his first game against the Bears

Good for him, though. GOOD FOR HIM.

The Bears second tackler is consistently doing a good job tonight

That’s why we swarm to the ball. Good Bears.

That Khalil Mack strip-sack though

He popped off of the screen from the moment of the snap. I don’t even know if I realized I was watching a football play. It was more like the feeling you get when you see a bus flying careering towards a pedestrian and your breath stops. In this case, the bus was Khalil Mack and it just grabbed the football from the Goffdestrian and nobody got hurt.

Sean McVay kept the Bears from breaking Jared Goff

And I’m quite annoyed. Too many run plays and bootlegs and quick passes. It’s always nice to see the golden boy succeeding and earning himself some more praise. So happy for him.

I’m pretty sure Matt Nagy hears the fans shouting not call outside runs with Cordarrelle Patterson on 4th and 1

And is determined to prove us wrong. In case, that’s what’s happening. I will go on record as being in full support of these play calls. Be you, Matt.

This defense really got a pep in their step once the game was out of reach

I haven’t really thought about defensive garbage time before. But I’ve got to hand it to them, they really stepped up.

That Roy Robertson-Harris blocked field goal will be fun to watch

In highlight replays. Out of context. After the Bears win their next Super Bowl. Which I’m starting to fear won’t be this season. Oh dear, I’m spiraling.

An Eddie Jackson touchdown wasn’t called back on a penalty and he was so confused

Poor Bear looked lost on the field. Thank you, Eddie Jackson, for bringing us a moment of joy in an otherwise brutal fan experience.

Johnny Hecker is an unstoppable force

The man is a menace. It’s absolutely not fair.

Moon Bear continues to impress with limited targets

Darnell Mooney has been one of the few bright spots on the Bears offense this season, and I hereby pledge to mention him every week until this nick name sticks. Fun fact: the moon bear, or Asiatic black bear, has a powerful upper body and is a terrific climber.

Plenty of annoying things happened in this game

Whether it was pesky calls or lucky bounces, I found myself wanting to whine fairly often. But ultimately, the Bears didn’t play well enough to win. They lost the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. And nobody did anything special to make up for that fact.

In the end, the Rams were paper tigers

And the Bears were rock tigers. Paper covers rock. The Rams suffocated the Bears and covered the spread while they were at it.

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So the Rams finally beat a good team. GOOD FOR THEM.