The Bears quieted everything down, for now, with a 24-18 win over the Rams on Sunday. Everything looked reasonably good, from quarterback Caleb Williams’ efficiency to offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s play calling.
It was the best they’ve looked — and felt — all season. The locker room was so buoyant afterward that wide receiver DJ Moore lost track whatever someone just asked him about the game.
“I’m just too happy that we won,” Moore said with a laugh. “Everything was clicking and going the way that we planned.”
Here’s how they did it:
Williams progresses
Williams still hasn’t been a game-changer, but he wasn’t a game-wrecker Sunday, and that’s a good start for a rookie. He had his highest completion percentage (73.9) and passer rating (106.6) and made two crucial passes on touchdown drives in the second half.
Ground game rolls
Running used to be the only thing the Bears could do, but Waldron couldn’t figure out how to ignite that part of the offense over the first three games. It finally worked Sunday with D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson working in tandem. Swift, by far the faster and shiftier of the two, ran for 93 yards and a touchdown and 72 yards receiving, while power back Johnson ran seven times for 26 yards.
Sweat stars
Defensive end Montez Sweat is the highest-paid player on the roster, and the Bears need him to produce no matter how creative opponents get with the blocking schemes and double teams. Sweat came through with a strip-sack on Matt Stafford at the 13-yard line in the second quarter, which led to a Bears touchdown and a 7-6 lead.