Four things to watch for in the Bears’ matchup with the Rams.
The Bears look to improve to 6-1 when they take on the 4-2 Rams onMonday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
As kickoff approaches, here’s our snapshot look at the game.
Player in the spotlight
For the third consecutive season, Matt Nagy’s approach to game planning for the Rams requires extra focus on All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald. “Every time you put on the tape,” Nagy said, “you can see where he’s at. Your eyes go right to him.”
The Bears have many ways to attempt to slow Donald. Devote extra bodies to him. Run the other direction. Dial up a heavy dosage of quick passes. As Nagy emphasized, the Bears offense must be aware of where Donald is at all times.
Still, Donald is a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year because sometimes it doesn’t matter. He leads the NFL with 7 1⁄
2 sacks, including a four-sack day against Washington two weeks ago. He also has six other tackles for a loss.
Last year, in a 17-7 Rams defeat of the Bears, Donald had two sacks, four quarterback hits and a pass defensed.
This year, in a new system coordinator Brandon Staley implemented, Donald’s versatility and explosion is being utilized well. He’ll line up on the interior of the line and well outside the offensive tackle at times too. All five Bears linemen must be ready.
“You have to get on him early before he gets going,” center Cody Whitehair said.
Quarterback Nick Foles was Donald’s teammate with the Rams in 2015 and remembers how frequently disruptive he would be in practice.
“I’d be like, ‘Why can’t we block this guy? We have two guys on him andwe are still not blocking him,’” Foles said. “Years later I realized why. The dude’s unbelievable. Obviously we have to respect him.”
Keep an eye on …
Eddie Jackson’s playmaking ability.
Bears defensive back shada celebration all planned out. When Eddie Jackson grabbed
Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s broken-up pass out of the air Sunday and raced 17 yards into the end zone, they began to gather to put on the post-picksix show, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said.
Then they sawthe flag.
Kyle Fuller was penalized for pass interference, and Jackson had a touchdown wiped out for the second time this season. The first time came against the New York Giants, when Jackson was flagged for pass interference after a 54-yard pick-six.
“I know that (celebration) started and then somebody threw a wet blanket on the fire and that fire was put out pretty quick,” Pagano said.“We just keep telling them, have a plan, because it’s going to happen again. So let’s make sure we get a good plan for how we’re going to celebrate.”
As Pagano noted, Jackson, who has five career defensive touchdowns, also had a pick-six negated in 2018 against the Arizona Cardinals because of a Khalil Mack offside penalty. Pagano said Jackson is staying patient despite the frustration of having his game-changing plays wiped out.
“He’s doing a really good job of just staying the course,” Pagano said. “Don’t press. Things are going to happen. Those aren’t in his control so go back to — control the controllables. You just keep playing. You just keep doing your thing. You stay patient and eventually one of those is going to work out. He’s going to get in the end zone and not have toworry about looking back and seeing if there’s a flag on the ground.”
Pressing question Can Leonard Floyd make an impact against his old team?
The Bears parted with their 2016 firstround pick in March after four seasons of Floyd never quite living up to expectations that he could become a productive pass rusher.
Floyd finished his Bears career with 18 1⁄
2 sacks, including 11½ over his final three seasons. As the Bears brought in proven pass rusher Robert Quinn on a five-year, $70 million deal as a replacement, Floyd latched on with the Rams on a one-year, $10 million deal.
Nowhe faces the team that cut him. With the Rams, Floyd has two sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and four tackles for a loss in six games.
Rams coach Sean McVay called Floyd “relentless” and lauded his versatility and length. Versatility, of course, was the compliment the Bears most often gave to Floyd.
“You’re seeing a relentless competitor that plays with an effort that is everything he has, every single snap,” McVay said. “He can certainly rush, he can play in coverage, he gives us a lot of different versatility at that outside linebacker spot. But we love Leonard, and Leonard’s been extremely productive and great to be around here.”
Quinn has a sack and four quarterback pressures in six games in Chicago. But Pagano has said having Quinn along with Akiem Hicks back from injury has helped open things up for Mack, who leads the Bears with 4 1⁄ sacks.
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Injury/illness updates
After defensive lineman Akiem Hicks missed two practices this week with a non-COVID-19 illness, he returned Saturday andwas expected to be on the team plane to Los Angeles and play Monday.
Outside linebacker Mack was limited Saturday with a back injury coach Matt Nagy characterized as “soreness” and is listed as questionable. Also questionable for the game are safety Deon Bush (hamstring), right guard Rashaad Coward (finger), cornerback Buster Skrine (ankle) and offensive lineman Jason Spriggs (thumb/ back). The Bears announced safety/special teamer Sherrick McManis is out with a hamstring injury.
The Bears placed defensive back Michael Joseph on the Reserve /COVID-19 list Saturday. But Joseph is on injured reserve and hasn’t been around the team or Halas Hall. He has been receiving team medical care remotely.
The Rams listed only one player as questionable — tight end Tyler Higbee, who has a hand injury. Running back Darrell Henderson returned to practice in full after he was out with a thigh injury earlier in the week. Wide receiver Robert Woods was limited with a groin injury but is expected to play.