Los Angeles Rams versus Chicago Bears: Matchups to watch

The Los Angeles Rams enter Week 11 coming off an ugly loss on the road at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Offensively, they struggled as much as any performance since the era of Head Coach Sean McVay began. Defensively, they performed very well and should look to carry that momentum into this week against the Chicago Bears. Neither team is hitting their stride offensively, particularly the Bears which have struggled mightily on offense this entire season.

Let’s get into the matchups to watch:

Rams’ offensive line vs. Bears’ defensive line

The Bears are not the same defense they were in 2018, but they’re still a strong unit that poses a lot of issues for offenses with their front-seven. The defensive line possesses the ability to disrupt a lot of what the Rams do in particular. Players like DT’s Roy Robertson-Harris and Eddie Goldman, and EDGE’s Leonard Floyd, and obviously Khalil Mack are as good of a front as there is in the league. The Rams are starting a brand new offensive line as both C Brian Allen and RT Rob Havenstein are out for the contest, and the replacement players in G’s Austin Corbett and David Edwards and T Bobby Evans have a combined four NFL starts.

The offensive line needs to ensure some sort of stability, otherwise the Rams may very well put together another offensive stinker. The running game will be important, but protecting QB Jared Goff has to be of the utmost importance. The defensive lineman of the Bears oughta be licking their chops as they have the clear advantage in this battle.

QB Mitch Trubisky vs. Rams’ secondary

Trubisky may actually be the worst starting QB in football, though he is coming off a three-touchdown performance against the Detroit Lions. Still, the signal caller is a highly mistake-prone, inaccurate, and bad decision maker, giving the entirety of the Rams’ defense the edge. Trubisky is averaging only 5.8 YPA. This contest would be a great time for CB Jalen Ramsey to secure his first interception in horns.

QB Jared Goff vs. FS Eddie Jackson

The regression has hit Goff nearly as hard as it’s hit Trubisky as both QB’s are among the worst in QB rating this season. Goff is deserving of some context though, because the performance of his offensive line has been putrid. Generally, when given time, Goff has been solid, but those times have been few-and-far between. Going into this week, the offensive line has managed to downgrade further, leaving even the most optimistic with only the slightest amount of optimism for the Rams and Goff to get going offensively.

Jackson has yet to secure an interception after pulling in six in 2018. Jackson actually picked off Goff in 2018. He’s not performing at his peak right now, but Jackson determines a lot of the coverage on the backend for the Bears. His range and closing ability as a single-high safety can make or break the day for the Rams’ passing attack.

WR Robert Woods vs. CB Kyle Fuller

Even though the Rams struggled offensively in Week 10, Woods — aka Mr. Consistent and reliable — managed to secure seven receptions for 95 yards. Cooper Kupp remains Goff’s favorite target, but teams would be wise to continue to double Kupp and force Goff to look elsewhere. Woods is likely to draw a lot of coverage on the boundary from Fuller as he’s developed into one of the best cornerbacks in football.

CB Jalen Ramsey vs. WR Allen Robinson

Robinson is one of the best receivers in the league, unfortunately being held back by his quarterback. Still, Robinson managed to put together a strong Week 10 performance, pulling down six receptions for 86 yards. The Rams are likely to allow Ramsey to shadow AR12. The matchup between the two is going to be incredibly entertaining as both players are emotional between the white lines. One thing to note: Ramsey and Robinson are relatively similar in stature, which could pose as a positive for Ramsey as he won’t have to deal with a small and shifty receiver.