The prime-time Monday Night Football game on ESPN this week has the Chicago Bears traveling to Los Angeles to face the Rams.
Chicago sits atop the NFC North with Green Bay with a 5-1 record after pulling off two straight upsets. The Bears beat Tampa Bay on Thursday Night Football two weeks ago by a 21-19 score, before defeating Carolina on the road last week in their 23-16 victory as a 2-point underdog.
Nick Foles took over for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky under center in Chicago’s fourth game against Atlanta. His first start in a Bears’ uniform was the next week at home against Indianapolis, which is the team’s only loss of the season. In his last two games, Foles has completed 53 of his 81 passes for a 65.4% completion percentage while throwing for 441 yards. Chicago has scored 43 points in these two games, but they have settled for five field goals. Foles has also thrown at least one interception in five straight starts going back to his tenure in Jacksonville. That is the longest active streak in the league.
The strength of the Bears is their defense as they have not allowed 20 points in three straight games while not allowing more than 26 points all season. In their last two games, Chicago has registered seven sacks along with 15.5 tackles-for-loss and 14 hits on the quarterback. The Bears also have four takeaways in these two games.
Los Angeles had their two-game winning streak snapped last Sunday night with their 24-16 upset loss at San Francisco as a 2.5-point favorite. After playing on the road for the last two weeks, the Rams return to their new home at SoFi Stadium, where they have quickly become very comfortable. The Rams have won both their games at home while allowing only 26 combined points. Quarterback Jared Goff has completed 70% of his passes at home this season with 475 passing yards. The Los Angeles defense has sacked the quarterback eight times in these two home games with 13 tackles-for-loss and 16 hits on the quarterback.
The Rams are scoring 25.3 points per game this season while holding their opponents to only 19.0 points per game. They are averaging 388.2 yards per game but giving up just 318.5 yards per game. However, the strength of schedule for head coach Sean McVay's team places some doubt on those good numbers since all four of their victories are against the teams from the weak NFC East, where Philadelphia is currently in first place with a 2-4-1 record. Los Angeles' two losses were to Buffalo and then to the 49ers last week.
These two teams played last season on a cold night on November 17th in Chicago, where the Rams won by a 17-7 score.
BetAnySports lists Los Angeles as a 6-point favorite with the total set at 44.5. The kickoff is shortly after 8:15 PM ET.