- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Rams Fall to Bears, 37-13
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Fall-to-Bears-37-13/2f498567-f854-42cb-b01c-046aa66d05d5
While the Rams got off to a fast start, the Bears took control and didn’t let up, coming away with a 37-13 victory at the Edward Jones Dome.
“We got out played, got out coached. We didn’t play well,” head coach Jeff Fisher said after the game. “I’m really disappointed.”
Chicago was able to gash the St. Louis defense throughout the contest, scoring two touchdowns of at least 80 yards. In all, the Bears racked up 397 yards of offense to the Rams’ 285.
“Very disappointing,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Seems like we didn't show up today on defense, didn't do the things we needed to do to win the game.”
“Anything can happen in the NFL on Sunday,” Laurinaitis added, “but I didn't expect this one today.”
St. Louis surrendering touchdowns of 83 and 87 yards is a rarity for a unit that has not allowed many long scores on the season.
“You don’t see those big plays against our defense,” Fisher said. “Uncharacteristic of us today, defensively.”
“When you have big plays like that, it's hard to overcome those,” Laurinaitis said. “When those happen and you get down big like that, basically they can do whatever they want with the football. And that's what happened today.”
The offense struggled as well, with nine of the team’s 14 possessions ending in four plays or fewer. In all, the Rams had just 12 first downs and were 4-of-14 in third-down efficiency.
“With four minutes to go in the game, we had eight first downs,” Fisher said. “You can’t win games like that.”
Quarterback Nick Foles finished 17-of-36 for 200 yards and an interception. And because the team got down early, running back Todd Gurley had only 12 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in receiving, with three catches for 44 yards.
“We’re not winning, so I have to keep working to get better, working to make sure offensively we get rolling,” Foles said. “We as an offense just have to continue to keep improving.”
And the Rams could have another significant injury, as rookie offensive lineman was carted off the field following Foles’ interception in the fourth quarter.
“‘JB’ doesn’t look good -- it looks like a lower-leg fracture, so he’ll probably be done,” Fisher said. “It’s unfortunate for ‘JB’ because he was off to a great rookie year.”
Right tackle Rob Havenstein also suffered a calf sprain, leading to more changes on the offensive line as he was replaced by rookie Darrell Williams.
What ended up as a rough loss did begin in St. Louis’ favor, as the club cruised 80 yards in just seven plays to score on its opening drive. Quarterback Nick Foles hit Jared Cook with a short pass on a bootleg that the tight end took 29 yards on the first snap. A play later, running back Todd Gurley caught a short pass and ran down the field for a 31-yard gain, hurdling a Chicago defender in the process. The rookie out of Georgia would cap the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Rams an early 7-0 lead.
But Chicago would come right back to tie the game. On the second play of the possession, quarterback Jay Cutler found tight end Zach Miller on the left side with a short pass. Miller evaded a couple tacklers and scampered down the field for an 87-yard touchdown.
“I was surprised that second play went to the house,” Laurinaitis said. “We're a good tackling defense and for whatever reason today, that didn't show up.”
“It was really good to get the ball in the end zone on the opening drive,” Fisher said. “I thought we were on our way, and then we give up the big play defensively, and then we just kind of battled back and forth.”
The Rams would get back on the board after Bradley Marquez forced a fumble on a Johnny Hekker punt and Maurice Alexander recovered the ball. Greg Zuerlein hit a 26-yard field goal to put the Rams back on top 10-7.
After that, Chicago would score 17 straight points to go into halftime with a 24-10 lead. The Bears tied it up after a Tre Mason fumble gave the visitors an extra possession deep in St. Louis territory. The defense would force Chicago to settle for a field goal, but wouldn’t have answers following the offense’s ensuing three-and-out.
The Bears drove 65 yards in 12 plays, converting a pair of 3rd-and-short plays with a Rams penalty moving the sticks for Chicago in another third-down situation. Miller would get his second touchdown of the day when Cutler hit him in the end zone for a 1-yard scoring strike.
Chicago increased its lead following another St. Louis three-and-out with the second scoring strike of at least 80 yards. Cutler found running back Jeremy Langford on a screen play, and the rookie was off and running for an 83-yard touchdown to make the score 24-10.
The Rams and Bears traded field goals midway through the second half, with Zuerlein hitting from 36-yards out and Robbie Gould connecting from 37 to bring the score to 27-13.
With the club needing a spark in the second half, Fisher elected to try a fake punt from the St. Louis 23. Hekker attempted a pass to Cody Davis, but the ball fell incomplete.
“I’ll take the fake punt, that’s on me,” Fisher said. “I’m trying to win the game. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but that’s our personality. You’ve seen them work. You’ve seen them be difference makers in games.”
Chicago went up 30-13 with a field goal on its ensuing possession, and St. Louis got the ball back on its own 20 with 8:05 left in the contest. A 9-yard sack knocked the offense off schedule, and the Rams could not convert on fourth down, giving the Bears another possession deep in the home team’s territory. Chicago would capitalize on the field position, as Langford ran it in from 6-yards out, increasing the lead to 37-13.
The Bears had another scoring opportunity thwarted after a Foles interception. Rodney McLeod forced a fumble on running back Ka’Deem Carey, and Aaron Donald was there to recover it. The defensive tackle used his speed to rumble 40 yards to the Chicago 45. Donald finished the game tied for the team lead with seven tackles -- including two for loss -- with four QB hits and 1.5 sacks to give him 6.0 on the season.
Following the fumble recovery, Case Keenum came in at quarterback in relief of Foles, as a few Mason runs ran out the clock.
With the loss, the Rams are now 4-5 on the season. They’ll be back in action next week at Baltimore.
“Nobody likes to lose, especially this way and at home,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “It hurts. We’ve just got to learn from our mistakes and fix it, and move on to the next one.”
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Fall-to-Bears-37-13/2f498567-f854-42cb-b01c-046aa66d05d5
While the Rams got off to a fast start, the Bears took control and didn’t let up, coming away with a 37-13 victory at the Edward Jones Dome.
“We got out played, got out coached. We didn’t play well,” head coach Jeff Fisher said after the game. “I’m really disappointed.”
Chicago was able to gash the St. Louis defense throughout the contest, scoring two touchdowns of at least 80 yards. In all, the Bears racked up 397 yards of offense to the Rams’ 285.
“Very disappointing,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “Seems like we didn't show up today on defense, didn't do the things we needed to do to win the game.”
“Anything can happen in the NFL on Sunday,” Laurinaitis added, “but I didn't expect this one today.”
St. Louis surrendering touchdowns of 83 and 87 yards is a rarity for a unit that has not allowed many long scores on the season.
“You don’t see those big plays against our defense,” Fisher said. “Uncharacteristic of us today, defensively.”
“When you have big plays like that, it's hard to overcome those,” Laurinaitis said. “When those happen and you get down big like that, basically they can do whatever they want with the football. And that's what happened today.”
The offense struggled as well, with nine of the team’s 14 possessions ending in four plays or fewer. In all, the Rams had just 12 first downs and were 4-of-14 in third-down efficiency.
“With four minutes to go in the game, we had eight first downs,” Fisher said. “You can’t win games like that.”
Quarterback Nick Foles finished 17-of-36 for 200 yards and an interception. And because the team got down early, running back Todd Gurley had only 12 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in receiving, with three catches for 44 yards.
“We’re not winning, so I have to keep working to get better, working to make sure offensively we get rolling,” Foles said. “We as an offense just have to continue to keep improving.”
And the Rams could have another significant injury, as rookie offensive lineman was carted off the field following Foles’ interception in the fourth quarter.
“‘JB’ doesn’t look good -- it looks like a lower-leg fracture, so he’ll probably be done,” Fisher said. “It’s unfortunate for ‘JB’ because he was off to a great rookie year.”
Right tackle Rob Havenstein also suffered a calf sprain, leading to more changes on the offensive line as he was replaced by rookie Darrell Williams.
What ended up as a rough loss did begin in St. Louis’ favor, as the club cruised 80 yards in just seven plays to score on its opening drive. Quarterback Nick Foles hit Jared Cook with a short pass on a bootleg that the tight end took 29 yards on the first snap. A play later, running back Todd Gurley caught a short pass and ran down the field for a 31-yard gain, hurdling a Chicago defender in the process. The rookie out of Georgia would cap the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give the Rams an early 7-0 lead.
But Chicago would come right back to tie the game. On the second play of the possession, quarterback Jay Cutler found tight end Zach Miller on the left side with a short pass. Miller evaded a couple tacklers and scampered down the field for an 87-yard touchdown.
“I was surprised that second play went to the house,” Laurinaitis said. “We're a good tackling defense and for whatever reason today, that didn't show up.”
“It was really good to get the ball in the end zone on the opening drive,” Fisher said. “I thought we were on our way, and then we give up the big play defensively, and then we just kind of battled back and forth.”
The Rams would get back on the board after Bradley Marquez forced a fumble on a Johnny Hekker punt and Maurice Alexander recovered the ball. Greg Zuerlein hit a 26-yard field goal to put the Rams back on top 10-7.
After that, Chicago would score 17 straight points to go into halftime with a 24-10 lead. The Bears tied it up after a Tre Mason fumble gave the visitors an extra possession deep in St. Louis territory. The defense would force Chicago to settle for a field goal, but wouldn’t have answers following the offense’s ensuing three-and-out.
The Bears drove 65 yards in 12 plays, converting a pair of 3rd-and-short plays with a Rams penalty moving the sticks for Chicago in another third-down situation. Miller would get his second touchdown of the day when Cutler hit him in the end zone for a 1-yard scoring strike.
Chicago increased its lead following another St. Louis three-and-out with the second scoring strike of at least 80 yards. Cutler found running back Jeremy Langford on a screen play, and the rookie was off and running for an 83-yard touchdown to make the score 24-10.
The Rams and Bears traded field goals midway through the second half, with Zuerlein hitting from 36-yards out and Robbie Gould connecting from 37 to bring the score to 27-13.
With the club needing a spark in the second half, Fisher elected to try a fake punt from the St. Louis 23. Hekker attempted a pass to Cody Davis, but the ball fell incomplete.
“I’ll take the fake punt, that’s on me,” Fisher said. “I’m trying to win the game. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but that’s our personality. You’ve seen them work. You’ve seen them be difference makers in games.”
Chicago went up 30-13 with a field goal on its ensuing possession, and St. Louis got the ball back on its own 20 with 8:05 left in the contest. A 9-yard sack knocked the offense off schedule, and the Rams could not convert on fourth down, giving the Bears another possession deep in the home team’s territory. Chicago would capitalize on the field position, as Langford ran it in from 6-yards out, increasing the lead to 37-13.
The Bears had another scoring opportunity thwarted after a Foles interception. Rodney McLeod forced a fumble on running back Ka’Deem Carey, and Aaron Donald was there to recover it. The defensive tackle used his speed to rumble 40 yards to the Chicago 45. Donald finished the game tied for the team lead with seven tackles -- including two for loss -- with four QB hits and 1.5 sacks to give him 6.0 on the season.
Following the fumble recovery, Case Keenum came in at quarterback in relief of Foles, as a few Mason runs ran out the clock.
With the loss, the Rams are now 4-5 on the season. They’ll be back in action next week at Baltimore.
“Nobody likes to lose, especially this way and at home,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “It hurts. We’ve just got to learn from our mistakes and fix it, and move on to the next one.”
