Bears need to get back to winning formula vs. Rams — taking the ball away
The Bears beat the Packers last week without forcing a turnover.
They hadn’t done that against any team in more than two years. And they can’t expect it to happen twice in as many weeks Sunday against the high-octane Rams.
“If we can limit the amount of time they’re on the field, the amount of plays and get the ball back to our offense?” cornerback Nahshon Wright said. “For us, throughout the year, that’s been the formula to winning.”
That formula worked: Wright led the NFL in takeaways, and the Bears led the league with 23 interceptions and 33 takeaways. In the regular season, the Bears were 9-0 when forcing two or more turnovers and 2-6 when forcing fewer. That made their rally from a 21-3 deficit against the Packers that much more astounding.
“If we control time of possession and win the turnover battle,” Wright said, “I like our odds much better than being down 18.”
The Rams turned the ball over only 15 times during the regular season, tied for the fourth-fewest in the league. Eight of them came in three games — losses to the 49ers, Panthers and Falcons.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, the presumptive MVP, threw 597 passes during the season and was picked off only eight times. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams led all quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes with an interception percentage of 1.2%, but Stafford was tied for second at 1.3%.
“It boils down to who their players are — they have a really good back end, a talented back end that catches the ball when it’s in their area,” Stafford told Rams reporters this week. “They do a nice job up front as well as affecting the pocket, so it’ll be a big challenge for us.
“It’s such a crucial stat, as we all know — it’s points, then turnovers. I’ll try to make sure that we do the best that we can to still play aggressively and all that but be sound with the football — and make sure that we’re ending every drive with an extra point or a field goal or a punt.”
The Bears hope frigid temperatures will bother Stafford, but slot cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson isn’t counting on it. He was on the Eagles team that beat Stafford in the snow and 27-degree windchill in the playoffs last year. Stafford still threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns and had a 97.2 passer rating.
“Weather don’t affect nobody, if you ask me,” said Gardner-Johnson, who, amazingly, is playing Stafford in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. “When it’s win or go home, that’s what affects you more than the weather.”
Without turnovers, the Bears’ defense is ordinary. It gave up the fourth-most yards and 10th-most points.
“Statistically, if you look at us, they’d probably think this is one of the worst passing defenses they’ve faced this year,” Wright said. “The stats are the stats, but you still have to line it up out there and go play ball.”