When the Chicago Bears hosted the Los Angeles Rams last year, both teams were headed to division titles. The Rams entered the game with an 11-1 record and boasted a high-octane offense centered around quarterback Jared Goff and tailback Todd Gurley II. The Bears’ ironclad defense held the Rams to just six points, a preview of what New England would later accomplish in the Super Bowl, and Chicago held on for a 15-6 win. Fortunes have changed for both teams this year, with the Bears in third place in the NFC North, entering with a record of 4-5. Chicago had started out 3-1 before the offense fell off the table and the team went on a four-game skid. They ended the streak last week, beating Detroit by seven, but now they face the Rams on the road. The Rams are 5-4; like Chicago, they started out 3-0 but have since dropped four of six, including a mystifying five-point loss to Pittsburgh last week in which the Rams could get absolutely nothing going on offense, scoring a touchdown on defense and adding a safety in a 17-12 setback. Which team will win this week? Check out our NFL preview of this Sunday night affair.
Bears vs Rams 2019 NFL Week 11 Odds, Preview & Prediction
- When: Sunday, November 17, 8:20 pm ET
- Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
- TV: NBC
- Radio: Westwood One
- Live Stream: NBCSports.com
- NFL Odds: Los Angeles -6.5 / O/U 41
Why should you bet on the Bears?
Chicago finally got a solid passing performance out of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who exploded just before halftime. They had trailed the Detroit Lions, 6-0, until a touchdown drive just ahead of the intermission. Trubisky went 16 for 23 for 173 yards — not huge numbers, but he did throw three touchdown passes. The defense chipped in with a key turnover.
Against the Rams, the Bears have won six of their last 10 meetings, covering the spread in seven of those occasions. The Bears lead with their defense, which operates behind the pass rush led by Khalil Mack. On the season, Chicago is fourth in the NFL in fewest points permitted. If you like the Bears to cover in this game, you see their defense frustrating the Rams’ offense much like the Steelers were able to, and you see the Bears as able to move the ball enough to keep the game’s final margin within a touchdown.
Why should you put your money on the Rams?
The Rams’ defense continues to play excellent ball this season, and the defense almost beat the Steelers all by themselves a week ago. Dante Fowler Jr. scooped up a botched snap that went over Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph’s head and bounced high in the air, just where Fowler could catch it, and rumbled to the house for an early score. In the fourth quarter, the defense added a safety on a sack of Rudolph. So other than a field goal, the Rams’ offense did not do much.
The Rams showed uncharacteristic carelessness with the ball against Pittsburgh, and if you give a team enough short fields, they will beat you. Jared Goff went 22 for 41 for 243 yards and a pair of picks — and the Rams would turn the ball over four times overall. One of those turnovers went back for a touchdown in the arms of Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has become a takeaway machine in the past few weeks. If you like the Rams, you believe that their ball security will improve (and even comparing to the law of averages, you have to believe that it will). You also see the Rams having even more success controlling the Chicago offense than they did with the Steelers.
Final Score Prediction
I am very impressed by what Mason Rudolph has done filling in at quarterback for Ben Roethlisberger. I’m not sure that he is ready for a defense that is as stout as what the Rams bring, though. I see the Rams winning and covering, 27-16.
