reporters on the Bears game

ALL THE FEELS.

(@BobbyEvans44 went to @OU_Football btw 😂 @OgboOkoronkwo) pic.twitter.com/lzqSYul0ZZ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 18, 2019

🗣 Break it down, @BobbyEvans44! pic.twitter.com/FR5uCMhYPi

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 18, 2019

Max@maxpereztl
First thoughts on Rams vs. Bears

1.) Rams and McVay adjusted offensively and changed their game totally

2.) Bobby Evans and David Edwards put on a show

3.) Defense stays elite

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
I feel like it took Sean McVay a little while to gain enough confidence in the remade OL/WR groups to let loose in the pass game.

Andrew Siciliano@AndrewSiciliano
Bobby Evans played a great game tonight

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5 takeaways from the Rams' 17-7 victory against Chicago https://t.co/emk3zGXBA5

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) November 18, 2019

Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
Todd Gurley on his game: “It felt good, man. I guess I felt like the old Todd.”

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Throwback workload for Gurley: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2019/11/17/los-angeles-rams-chicago-bears-score/4226298002/

After not seeing the ball in the fourth quarter of last week’s ugly 17-12 loss in Pittsburgh, Todd Gurley saw the ball more than any game this season.

The Rams running back, who hadn’t had more than 19 touches in a game this season, had his 20th touch of the night midway through the third quarter.

Gurley finished with 25 carries and three catches, which was his biggest workload since he had 25 carries and six catches in the 29-27 win over Green Bay on Oct. 28, 2018.

He had 133 yards from scrimmage — 97 yards rushing on 25 carries and three catches for 36 yards — and a 1-yard touchdown run, set up by Jared Goff’s 50-yard pass to Cooper Kupp, gave the Rams a 10-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first half.

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Zero sacks allowed. pic.twitter.com/jpwSYT3bsu

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 18, 2019

Sean McVay told Todd Gurley before Sunday night’s game with Chicago that he was going to “pound the rock.” The result was the running back’s biggest workload in more than a calendar year. @usatodaynfl @DowntownRams @CVRamsClub pic.twitter.com/ZkOH8pDo6v

— Joe Curley (@vcsjoecurley) November 18, 2019

Los Angeles Rams@RamsNFL
When @SJD_51 takes the field today, two very special people will be in the stands watching him play in an NFL game.

“It’s a big thank you to them.”

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Five tackles for Sebastian Joseph-Day tonight, sharing with Michael Brockers for fourth-most by a Ram against the Bears.

I’d say he did his parents proud tonight.

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Austin Blythe told me this week: “I got drafted in 2016 as a center. I’ll finally be making my first start at center on Sunday.” (#Colts immediately moved him to guard, a bigger need. He’s been a starter at guard for #Rams the last two years) C might be his best position.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams coach Sean McVay said he knew WR Robert Woods wasn’t going to play tonight “a couple hours before the game.”

Woods was inactive for personal reasons.

McVay said he doesn’t have clarity yet on when Woods will return because he wants to check with him first.

“Out of respect for his family, that’s why we’re just kind of leaving it at what it is,” McVay said.

Bears Insider@bears_insider
There was a feeling of finality in the bowels of L.A. Memorial Coliseum as #Bears100 filed out of the locker room losers for the 6th time. Did Mitch’s tenure as starter end in the final minutes with a hip injury? If not, their longshot playoff bid did

ESPN Los Angeles@ESPNLosAngeles
The #LARams keep up with the Niners (win) & Seahawks (bye). Todd Gurley compares the NFC West to the #NBA’s tough Western Conference.

A ‘big, good-looking sucker’ and other surprising linemen made Todd Gurley look good again

Rich Hammond

https://theathletic.com/1387537/2019/11/18/a-big-good-looking-sucker-and-other-surprising-linemen-made-todd-gurley-look-good-again/?=twittered

LOS ANGELES — Andrew Whitworth walked off the Rams’ practice field early in the week and felt something. He probably knew better than to express it, what with everyone ridiculing and writing off the Rams’ offensive line, but Whitworth knows line play and knows football, and something grabbed him.

“These guys are different,” Whitworth said Sunday night, after the Rams turned in perhaps their least-probable effort of the season in a 17-7 victory over the Chicago Bears at the Coliseum.

Who saw this coming? Austin Blythe as the cool, calm, pace-setting center? Bobby Evans as a rock at right tackle, sometimes while matched against one of the fiercest pass-rushers in the NFL? Austin Corbett, deemed unworthy to play for the Browns — the Browns! — opening holes at left guard?

The Rams shuffled almost their entire offensive line in one week and faced a Chicago defense that has one of the most stout front sevens in the NFL. It should have been a nightmare for the Rams. Instead, their line had arguably its most productive game of the season, with the Rams’ season on the line.

The Rams had 31 designed run plays against the Bears, compared to only 18 passes. The results weren’t sterling — the Rams averaged 3.2 yards per carry — but they stuck with it. Todd Gurley nearly rushed for 100 yards, and it’s been almost a full calendar year since he was a sure bet to reach 50 yards.

Gurley said he felt like “the old Todd,” and that’s because he was running behind what looked like the Rams’ old line, the one that served as the centerpiece of the league’s best offense in 2017 and 2018. The Rams ran for 110 yards, their highest total since Week 2. Quarterback Jared Goff didn’t look great but also did not get sacked once in 18 pass attempts (he completed 11, for 173 yards).

Given the circumstances — plus the fact that Blythe came down with stomach flu Thursday night — the Rams’ line had no right to play this well.

“That’s just such a good feeling as an offensive lineman,” Corbett said. “That’s why we play the game. That’s why we play up front. We want to be able to be able to run the ball. You’ve got another grown man in front of you and you’ve got to remove him. That’s what we look forward to and we were excited for that chance.”

Whitworth turns 38 next month and might have entered the game like a nervous father while playing alongside Corbett (24), Blythe (27) and two 22-year-old rookies: David Edwards and Evans. But after an early week walk-through practice, Whitworth felt a sense of calm, even though the Rams had lost center Brian Allen and veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein to injury.

Blythe, a natural center who transitioned to guard after the Rams claimed him in 2017, calmed teammates with a confident demeanor and did not seem overwhelmed by the moment. Edwards looked like a natural at right guard. And Corbett, well, Corbett just plain looked good.

“He’s a big, good-looking sucker,” Whitworth said. “I’ve only played with a couple guards that look like that guy. He’s big, thick, athletic. When he puts on a pair of pads, you go, ‘Man.’ Going down the tunnel, I heard a couple defensive guys say, ‘You look good in a set of pads.’ He does.”

Perhaps coach Sean McVay had similar good feelings. The Rams, naturally, didn’t publicly share their game plan going into Sunday, but it could have gone one of two ways. The Rams could have thrown the ball 50 times, and as quickly as possible. Get ball, throw ball. Plan not to have Goff benefit from any blocking, and have him get rid of the ball within two seconds of the snap in order not to be mauled on a regular basis.

But that’s not what happened. Shortly before kickoff, McVay approached Gurley with a message.

“He just said he was going to pound the rock, so just get ready,” Gurley said with a grin.

That took some guts. The Bears have suffered some injury issues but still have a stout front and still have Khalil Mack. They’ve made plenty of offenses suffer, and running the ball directly at them didn’t necessarily seem to be the smartest strategy with a makeshift line.

The Rams went for it and stuck with it, even after Gurley fumbled on their first offensive play. Gurley, invisible for large stretches of this season, touched the ball on 12 of the Rams’ first 17 plays and they had some success. Eventually, the Bears shifted to the type of 6-1 defensive front that gave the Rams fits in their run game late last season, but the Rams got what they needed.

Late in the first quarter, the Rams started a drive at their 37-yard line. They handed the ball to Gurley four consecutive times and he gained 34 yards to put the Rams in position for a Greg Zuerlein field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Rams never trailed.

“It was great to see,” Blythe said. “That was the old Todd, running and hitting holes hard, making guys miss and just flat-out outrunning guys. We needed it. That’s a great defensive front for the Bears. They’ve got very good linebackers and defensive linemen who take up blockers. But we needed to do what we needed to do, play physical and run the football. Things worked out well, and credit the defense for us.”

There’s no question, and it’s also fair to note the Rams haven’t solved their issues. Scoring 17 points is not enough, and won’t be enough when Baltimore comes to the Coliseum next week for a Monday-night showdown.

This could have been a disaster, though. Instead, the Rams now look like they have something to build around. What if Blythe is the long-term answer at center, not guard? What if Edwards and Evans are ready to hold down the right side of the offensive line, if not consistently this year — Havenstein is expected to return at some point — but in 2020?

And, perhaps most importantly, what if all of this is good for Gurley? He looked more confident in his reads and cuts than at almost any other time this season, and after the game he actually smiled and joked with reporters, a stark contrast to his recent dour demeanor. Gurley even sounded like the 2017 and 2018 postgame version of himself, praising the offensive linemen for his success.

“Those guys are some big guys,” Gurley said. “They really did their thing. I really appreciate those guys for opening up holes for me and just getting things going for us.

“It felt good, man. I guess I felt like the old Todd. It was cool. I was just happy that I was able to go out there and take advantage of it.”

Bill Barnwell from https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28103551/making-sense-2019-nfc-playoff-race-eight-good-teams-six-spots

Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of what might go down as the stylistic peak of the Sean McVay era, the legendary 54-51 shootout between the Rams and Chiefs on Monday Night Football. That game was passing football on amphetamines in an environment in which it felt like either team was capable of scoring on every single snap.

Now, 363 days later, the Rams played out a game in which it seemed like both teams were more concerned about making a mistake than they were about scoring. Sunday’s stultifying 17-7 win over the Bears is a credit to Wade Phillips’ defense, which has turned things around after the Rams dealt most of their available draft credit line for cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

It’s also a reminder of just how notably things have changed for Los Angeles. This time last season, the Rams were still living off outside zone and the play-action opportunities their core run concept created. Against those Chiefs, it was mostly the latter, as Jared Goff dropped back to pass 54 times against 21 rushing plays. Goff fumbled twice, but he finished with 413 passing yards and four touchdowns without throwing a pick.

On Sunday, the entire offense was flipped. The Rams used the “duo” run scheme so frequently that commentator Cris Collinsworth called it out in the middle of the game. McVay took the game out of Goff’s hands after a dismal start against the Bears in 2018 and an ugly performance against the Steelers last weekend, running the ball on 34 of Los Angeles’ 52 snaps on offense. Goff finished 11-of-18 for 173 yards with an interception, although a long touchdown to Josh Reynolds was wiped away by an illegal formation penalty.

That missing touchdown came off a play fake, and while that used to be the most devastating element of the Rams’ offense, it’s come and gone. In 2018, Goff led the league with 2,026 passing yards off play-action, more than 200 ahead of any other quarterback, adding 15 touchdown passes against just two interceptions. He was seventh in the league in passer rating on play-action at 114.5. This season, Goff has a 66.3 passer rating on play-action passes, worst in the NFL by nearly eight full points. He has thrown five interceptions with just one touchdown.

Even in the abbreviated sample against one of the league’s best pass rushes, Goff underwhelmed. He did hit a pair of deep throws downfield, notably the near-touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, but he looked lost for confidence in the pocket at times and continued to miss open receivers. He inexplicably whiffed high on what should have been an easy completion to Reynolds on a dagger concept. NFL Next Gen Stats suggested he had a 75% chance of completing this pass, which is remarkably high for a throw downfield. By those numbers, Goff has the largest negative gap between his actual completion percentage (60.3%) and his expected completion percentage (66.7%) of any quarterback in football with 200 attempts or more.

Goff isn’t playing well, but to some extent McVay might have been forced to make changes by his personnel. In that Chiefs game a year ago, the only Rams starter who was missing from the lineup was Kupp, who had torn his ACL. On Sunday, after Robert Woods was a late scratch for personal reasons, the Rams were down five of their offensive starters. Several of the players who are left look totally compromised, including Todd Gurley and Andrew Whitworth, whose slide might be one of the least-reported but most-important stories of the 2019 season. Whitworth on Sunday committed his seventh holding penalty of the season, a stunning number from a superstar who committed just seven holds across his first two full seasons in Los Angeles.

It remains to be seen whether McVay wanted to use this philosophy for one week to try to beat a Bears team that tormented Goff in Chicago last season or if the Rams will go run-heavy and try to win with a few shot plays in the passing game. (The Bears destroyed Goff last December when they went with the 6-1 front on defense, which came full circle on Sunday when the Rams used the same front against Mitchell Trubisky.) With the Ravens coming to town next week, the Rams will likely want to keep the ball out of Lamar Jackson’s hands and keep a devastating Baltimore offense on the sidelines, which would seemingly point toward the run.

The biggest game for the Rams might come against the Cowboys in Week 15. Los Angeles still has games it will want to win against the Seahawks (Week 14) and 49ers (Week 16), but its chances of winning the division are down below 2% at this point. The Rams’ best chance of getting in is as a wild-card team, and a tiebreaker victory over the Cowboys could loom large if Dallas doesn’t win the NFC East.