By Zakary Haines
LOS ANGELES–What better way to kick off the season than with a win on Sunday Night Football. The Los Angeles Rams were able to dominate their opponent, the Chicago Bears, and go on to win 34 to 14. A 20 point blowout for Matthew Stafford to make his LA debut. The night was filled with excitement and even trying to handle two different Bears quarterbacks. It is good to know that football is back in full swing with all of this going on.
The Rams defense looked like the number one defense from last year. There was no stopping Aaron Donald last night, as he went on to get three tackles and one sack and recorded one tackle for a loss. Donald often faced double teams, but that did not stop last year’s defensive player of the year. Jalen Ramsey had himself a night with nine tackles, seven of those solo and two for a loss. Ramsey was able to cover the whole field by being able to adjust and read plays. The Bears’ offense struggled to move the ball as the Rams held the Bears to 188 passing yards and 134 rushing yards. David Montgomery racked up 108 rushing yards and a touchdown, but that would be the most he could do against the Rams.
As for the Rams’ offense, this game showed how much Matthew Stafford could elevate this team. Stafford recorded 321 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 89.9. Stafford only took one sack during the entire game, meaning the offensive line is working and in sync with the playbook. Cooper Kupp had himself a night in the receiving game, recording seven catches, 108 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Van Jefferson and Robert Woods also scored one touchdown each.
As for the rushing game, issues from the preseason were obvious again during this game. The offense struggled to move the ball on the ground against Chicago’s defense. Only 74 rushing yards were recorded, with Darrel Henderson Jr racking up 70 rushing yards. Sony Michel made his debut tonight but only recorded two rushing yards. This shows that Sean McVay and the coaching staff need to figure out the run game if they want to make a deep playoff run. Fortunately, the run game was not so important this week, but it will have to be addressed sooner rather than later.
In his post-game press conference, head coach Sean McVay had high praise for the defense. He said, “Defensively, what a good job holding up in the first half… I thought they made some key stops on fourth down.” When it came to the offense, McVay liked what he saw but said there is some room for improvements, specifically with the run game. McVay said, “I was encouraged to get the run game going a little bit. We can certainly build on it.”
Overall, this was a huge victory for the Rams. The move to acquire Matthew Stafford is showing promise early on. Now with multiple receiving options, it makes Stafford’s job much easier than before. Meanwhile, the defense continues only to get better. Being able to adjust to plays between Andy Dalton and Justin Fields shows that they can handle different styles of quarterback. In week one, the Rams are looking to be one of the best. The Rams are on the road this Sunday in Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT.
The Sports Insanity Network 