The Arizona Republic

Rams just too much for Bears to handle

- Greg Beacham

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Josh Reynolds and Gerald Everett caught touchdown passes from Jared Goff, and the Los Angeles Rams won a matchup of dominant defenses, beating the Chicago Bears 24-10 on Monday night.

Goff passed for 219 yards and Malcolm Brown rushed for a score for the Rams (5-2), who remained unbeaten at brand-new SoFi Stadium and reasserted themselves as NFC contenders with a rebound performanc­e one week after a rough loss at San Francisco.

Taylor Rapp made an end-zone intercepti­on on a pass deflection by Troy Hill while the Rams held Chicago (5-2) to 182 yards in the first three quarters and built a 24-3 lead.

Eddie Jackson returned a fumble 8 yards for Chicago’s only touchdown with 7:30 to play, but Los Angeles’ defense stayed in control, yielding 279 total yards and three points. The Rams have won twice in three defense-dominated games between these longtime rivals over the past three seasons.

Nick Foles passed for 261 yards for the Bears, who dropped out of the NFC North lead and fell to 3-1 on the road with their latest discouragi­ng offensive performanc­e. Chicago managed just 49 yards rushing and has 175 yards on the ground in the past four games.

The Rams’ defense, now coordinate­d by former Bears outside linebacker­s coach Brandon Staley, sacked Foles four times and picked off two of his passes, including Jalen Ramsey’s first intercepti­on of the season near midfield to clinch the victory with 3:13 to play.

Even punter Johnny Hekker dominated the Bears, pinning them inside their 10 with all five of his punts in a superb performanc­e by the four-time Pro Bowler.

The Rams led 10-3 at halftime after holding the Bears to 126 yards. Reynolds made his 4-yard TD reception on the second drive for just the second scoring catch by a wide receiver against Chicago’s stingy secondary all season, but the Bears stopped two additional drives just outside field goal range to keep the deficit manageable.

 ?? ASHLEY LANDIS/AP ?? Rams wide receiver Josh Reynolds makes a touchdown catch in front of Bears cornerback Buster Skrine during the first half Monday in Inglewood, Calif.
ASHLEY LANDIS/AP Rams wide receiver Josh Reynolds makes a touchdown catch in front of Bears cornerback Buster Skrine during the first half Monday in Inglewood, Calif.

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