Unfazed by an early touchdown by the St. Louis Rams, the Chicago Bears stormed back and won a decisive 37-13 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Rams got the ball to start the game, and amid a myriad of Bears' defensive breakdowns, they were able to score a quick touchdown. Todd Gurley was the star early on as he caught a long pass on a play-action snap, and then he ran straight up the middle a few players later and dove across the goal line to give St. Louis a 7-0 lead.
For the Bears, it only took them a couple of plays to respond. Jay Cutler threw a short pass to tight end Zach Miller, and thanks to a big block from Alshon Jeffery, Miller was able to scamper all the way to the end zone for an 87-yard touchdown reception to knot things up at 7-7.
The Bears forced a three-and-out by the Rams on their next drive, but a Marc Mariani fumble on the ensuing punt gave St. Louis the ball back. A big play by Willie Young helped prevent St. Louis from taking full advantage, but they still managed to get a short field goal to take the lead back at 10-7.
Shea McClellin made a huge play on St. Louis' next drive, stripping the ball from Tre Mason and recovering the fumble to give Chicago possession. The Bears took a couple of shots at the end zone, but the passes to Jeffery and Marquess Wilson both fell incomplete and so Chicago had to settle for a field goal to tie the game at 10-10 late in the first quarter.
On a lengthy second quarter drive, the Bears not only ate up a significant chunk of clock, but they also grabbed the lead thanks to some big plays. Both Jeremy Langford and Ka'Deem Carey picked up first downs on the drive, and after a Rams penalty extended the possession, Cutler lofted a pass over the line and Miller hauled it in for his second touchdown of the day to make it a 17-10 game.
After the Rams once again failed on a third down conversion attempt, the Bears took the ball and immediately cashed in on another long touchdown play. This time it was Langford doing the honors, making his first career touchdown reception a memorable one as he hustled 83 yards down the field to the end zone and gave the Bears a commanding 24-10 lead.
Local
Through the rest of the first half, the Rams couldn't get anything going offensively, and they found themselves down by two touchdowns and the Bears coming out of the halftime break with possession.
Things slowed down dramatically for both teams on offense as their defenses seemed to find their footing. The Rams did get a huge gain out of Brian Quick as he picked up 37 yards, but the Bears' defense limited the damage nicely as St. Louis had to settle for a 37-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal to cut the Bears' lead to 24-13.
The Bears' offense began churning again late in the quarter, and as the fourth quarter got underway, they got back on the board again. Martellus Bennett did get stopped short of a first down in the red zone, but Robbie Gould poked through a short field goal to go up 27-13 with less than 12 minutes to go.
After the Rams failed on a fake punt attempt, the Bears went ultra-conservative with their playcalling and settled for yet another field goal, as Gould continued his dominant day at the office and gave the team a 30-13 lead with eight minutes to go.
The Bears continued piling it on as the quarter went on, stopping the Rams on a fourth down conversion attempt and adding a touchdown for their troubles. Langford scored his second touchdown of the game for Chicago as he found a hole and skipped across the goal line to make it a 37-13 game.
The Bears will look to get back to the .500 mark next week when they welcome the Denver Broncos to Soldier Field.
