Rams look to grab bye against Bears after clinching division title
With a second straight division title in hand, Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams would love to grab a few more prizes. Another one is there for the taking. The NFC West champion Rams look to clinch a first-round playoff bye when they visit the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears in a prime-time matchup Sunday.
“You obviously want to win as many games as you can,” Goff said. “But if you do, it will lead to those types of rewards, and the first one we’ve done is win the division. Hopefully we can win a few more now or however many it takes to get the firstround bye and hopefully work toward the first seed.”
The Rams (11-1) clinched their second straight division championship and became the first team to secure a playoff spot with their 30-16 victory at Detroit last week. It’s quite an accomplishment for a franchise that endured 13 seasons without a winning record after capturing the NFC West in 2003.
It’s the first division repeat for the Rams since a run of seven straight firstplace finishes ended in 1979. And besides securing a first-round bye on Sunday, Los Angeles has a chance to move closer to home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, with a one-game lead over New Orleans, which has beaten the Rams.
Chicago (8-4) won five straight prior to a wild overtime loss at the New York Giants last week. The Bears wiped out a 10-point deficit in the final 1:13 of regulation, only to lose when Janoris Jenkins knocked away a deep pass by Chase Daniel after Aldrick Rosas kicked a 44-yard field goal.
Daniels likely won’t be at quarterback this week. Mitchell Trubisky expects to return after missing the past two games because of a right shoulder injury.
Here are some things to know as the Rams and Bears get ready to meet: ROADMAPS
The two teams appear to be following similar paths, with prized quarterbacks and big leaps under offence-minded coaches.
The Rams drafted Goff with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, hired coach Sean McVay to get the most out of him prior to last season, and took off from there, winning the division out of nowhere.
Chicago drafted Trubisky with the second overall pick in 2017 and hired Matt Nagy prior to this season to get the most out of the prized QB. Though the Bears expected to be better after four straight last-place finishes, a rather commanding division lead seemed like a stretch.
Trubisky has taken some big strides after a shaky rookie season — like Goff, who made the Pro Bowl last year. And a prime-time win over the team with the best record in the NFL wouldn’t hurt his stock.
“We know we have a great opponent coming in this weekend . ... And I’m just eager and excited to get back out there with my guys and play the game,” Trubisky said.