They say winning mends all wounds, and that is especially true for the Los Angeles Rams as they prepare to take on the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.
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The Rams have suffered through an injury-plagued and near disastrous start to the 2024 season, but they can wipe the slate clean with a win in Chicago. A 2-2 record and moving back to .500 would be monumental for Los Angeles, who expects to get several players back from injured reserve in the short-term future:
If a player is placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, they are required to miss at least four games. The Rams will enjoy a much-needed bye in Week 6 of the young season, which is a positive in terms of timing but could delay the return timeline for multiple individuals.
The Rams could soon activate CB Darious Williams, OL KT Leveston, OT Conor McDermott, and DT Larell Murchison as soon as next week’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers, though it depends on whether the player has been cleared by the team’s medical staff and is able to return to game speed through the three-week activation window.
Joe Noteboom and Puka Nacua can’t return until after LA’s fifth game that comes in Week 7 because they participated in the season opener against the Detroit Lions and weren’t placed on injured until Week 2.
I don’t mean to look too far ahead. It’s important to take life just week at a time in the NFL, though this underscores how significant a win this weekend in Chicago would be.
LA can get back to .500 despite the mountain of adversity they’ve faced—and they might even emerge on the other side stronger than they entered the year.
Even though the Bears are 1-2, they won’t be an easy out. The defense headlined by Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat, and Tremaine Edmunds is probably the toughest group the Rams; offense has seen so far. While the Houston Texans were able to eke out a 19-13 win over Chicago, the Bears defense gave CJ Stroud and the Texans all they could handle. It was the Bears offense that didn’t do it’s just in Houston, and Caleb Williams tossed two interceptions.
But Williams is improving despite a supporting cast that hasn’t lived up to expectations. Just like he did for most of his career at USC, he’s putting the weight of the offense on his shoulders and looking to outperform porous pass protection and an anemic ground game. Williams is developing an off-schedule rapport with fellow top-10 draft pick and rookie receiver Rome Odunze, and DJ Moore is no slouch either. This capable receiving duo will be a tough matchup for LA, as the Rams secondary has allowed major receiver breakouts in all of their games this season: Jameson Williams for the Detroit Lions, Marvin Harrison, Jr. for the Arizona Cardinals, and Jauan Jennings for the San Francisco 49ers.
Matthew Stafford doesn’t need to go toe to to with Caleb Williams. It probably won’t take another three-touchdown effort from Kyren Williams. The Rams just need to get the job done and leave Chicago with their second-straight victory. It doesn’t have to be pretty. There are no style points in the NFL.
Can the Rams beat the Bears and move to 2-2 on the season?
