NFL: 5 takeaways from the Los Angeles Rams' Week 7 win over the Chicago Bears
Week 7's edition of "Monday Night Football" featured two teams that should have asterisks attached to their win-loss records this season. The Los Angeles Rams went into the game at 4-2, taking on the Chicago Bears, who were 5-1.
The Rams pulled away to defeat the Bears, 24-10.
Both the L.A. offense and defense dominated the Bears, whose only touchdown was an 8-yard fumble return late in the fourth quarter. For two teams that ended the night with identical 5-2 records, one looked vastly superior.
Here are five takeaways from Monday night.
5. Rams kicker Samuel Sloman's struggles continued
Rams' kicker Samuel Sloman continues to have troubles since the season began. Against the Bears he missed one of two field goals. Sloman has had consistency issues, and considering the Rams' offense has been performing well so far, having an accurate kicker is necessary for this team.
Nonetheless, Sloman was released on Tuesday, which was somewhat expected from the Rams. Sloman was drafted with the 248th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and competed against two other kickers during training camp.
The Rams signed Kai Forbath to their roster, a veteran who has had success as a placekicker. Hopefully Forbath can be more accurate than Sloman for the Rams going forward.
4. The Bears are lacking in the rushing department
Currently, the Bears' rushing attack ranks last in the league in yards per game. They rank second-to-last in total yards as well, with a total of 589 rushing yards. To compare, the league-leading Arizona Cardinals have almost double the output with 1,125 yards on the ground.
The likes of David Montgomery and Cordarrelle Patterson simply have not been good for the Bears since the season started for the most part, aside from the 82 yards Montgomery was able to achieve against the New York Giants in Week 2.
Two issues are the likely reason for this. The first being the lack of proper playcalling by head coach Matt Nagy, which has been an issue with him since the beginning and something QB Nick Foles has complained about.
The second is the inability of the offensive line to create holes for the running backs. Chicago's offensive line ranks 30th in open-field yards, which measures how many yards a team's running backs are able to achieve beyond 10 yards. If the Bears want to truly win, Nagy has to do a better job in the run game.
3. Bears could still be second place in the NFC North
The Green Bay Packers are on top of the NFC North with a 5-1 record. The Bears currently sit at second place, with a 5-2 record and certainly could stay there for the rest of the season.
Looking ahead, the possible losses for the Bears would be against the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, and both meetings against the Packers. They should be able to beat the Minnesota Vikings (twice), Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If this is the case, the Bears could hold a 10-6 record for the season with a shot at the playoffs. But could this loss against the Rams be the beginning of their downfall?