Woods joins 1,000-yard club
CHICAGO — Robert Woods eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in a season for the first time during the Rams’ 15-6 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday night at Soldier Field.
Needing 29 yards to reach the mark, the sixth-year pro caught seven passes for a team-high 61 yards and surpassed the milestone with a 29-yard reception early in the fourth quarter.
Last week at Detroit, Brandin Cooks eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth time in five seasons, and became the first player in history to do it in consecutive seasons with three different teams.
Woods has 71 catches for 1,032 yards, both career bests. His five touchdown catches match his career high. The 26-year-old is in his second season with the Rams after playing his first four with Buffalo.
An All-American at USC, Woods never reached 700 yards in a season with the Bills. Last year, after signing a five-year, $34-million contract with the Rams, he caught 56 passes for 781 yards and five touchdowns despite sitting out three games because of a shoulder injury and being held out of the finale along with other starters.
K.C. connection
Cornerback Marcus Peters, acquired from Kansas City in an offseason trade, intercepted a first-quarter pass and returned it 48 yards to set up a field goal.
It was Peters’ third interception this season, his second against coaches with Chiefs ties.
In Week 11, he picked off a fourth-quarter pass against the Chiefs, which helped the Rams to a 54-51 victory over coach Andy Reid and the franchise that chose him in the first round of the 2015 draft.
First-year Bears coach Matt Nagy was the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator before he replaced John Fox in Chicago.
Slot cornerback Nickell-Robey Coleman intercepted a pass in the second quarter and John Johnson intercepted another in the third, his team-high fourth of the season.
Punter passes fancy
Punter Johnny Hekker completed a seven-yard pass to tight end Gerald Everett in the second quarter that kept alive a drive that resulted in a field goal to tie the score 6-6.
Everett initially was ruled short of the first-down marker, but coach Sean McVay challenged the spot and, upon review, the Rams were awarded a first down.
Hekker has completed 11 of 18 passes for 156 yards during his career, which began in 2012.
No running relief
Backup running backs Justin Davis and John Kelly were prepared to play in place of injured Malcolm Brown and contribute on offense and special teams.
They didn’t have much of an impact. Davis, a secondyear pro from USC, had one carry for 19 yards. Kelly, a rookie from Tennessee, did not have a carry.
Fowler starts again
In Week 11, outside linebacker Matt Longacre was inactive, McVay said, because the Chiefs offense presented matchups more suited for Dante Fowler.
But Fowler started the next game at Detroit — Longacre played nine snaps — and Longacre was inactive again against the Bears.
Nagy is a former Chiefs offensive coordinator and schemes with many of their same concepts.
Fowler, acquired at the trade deadline from Jacksonville, has aided the pass rush and also has been effective against the run as a three-down player. Against Chicago he had two tackles. Etc.
Defensive back Dominique Hatfield was carted off with his left leg in a cast after suffering an ankle injury . ... A week after being limited to 26 plays so as not to re-injure his surgically repaired left ankle, cornerback Aqib Talib played the entire game. An 11-year pro, he made five tackles while lending a veteran presence to the secondary, which picked off three passes. … Center John Sullivan left the game briefly after he was hit in the back of the helmet on the last play of the first quarter. He was evaluated for a concussion but returned. Rookie Brian Allen briefly replaced Sullivan. … Rams cornerback Sam Shields, who had plenty of experience playing at Soldier Field with Green Bay and had his best game there, played on special teams and in passing situations but did not make the stat sheet.