After scoring just one rushing touchdown over their first three games, the Chicago Bears had their best game on the ground Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Prior to Chicago’s 24-18 win over the Rams, the Bears had 218 yards rushing on 72 attempts (3.0 yards per carry) over three games. Against Los Angeles, Chicago averaged 4.7 yards per carry, tallying a season-high 131 rushing yards.
The solid offensive performance came after several members of the team’s leadership council, which included starting quarterback Caleb Williams, tight ends Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis and wide receiver DJ Moore, held a private meeting with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron — more on that later.
“Going into this week, we was real detailed,” Moore said about the team’s practice and preparations leading up to its game against the Rams, adding: “We had people called out.”
WR DJ Moore Says Calling Out Players, Blunt Honesty ‘Goes a Long Way’
Moore didn’t reveal which players specifically were called out, nor did he reveal who called out whom, but the Bears responded by playing their most complete game of the season.
Running back D’Andre Swift finished with 165 total yards from scrimmage, also scoring his first touchdown in a Bears uniform. He was a big part of the team’s passing game, catching 7 passes on 7 targets for 71 yards. Swift had struggled the first three weeks, never gaining more than 42 total yards in a game. We don’t know whether he was one of the players “called out,” but he had his best game in a Bears uniform against the Rams.
After the game, Moore said he believes the team calling each other out was a definite positive, noting that type of blunt honesty “goes a long way.”
“Nobody wants to be that guy that messes up or isn’t doing their job,” Moore said, adding: “We’re all grown men.”
What Went on During the Meeting Between OC Shane Waldron & the Bears’ Leadership Council?
Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer spoke on air about the team’s meeting with Waldron prior to the game against the Rams. Glazer said he spoke to Lewis, the veteran TE, the night before Chicago’s game against L.A., and Lewis revealed some of what Bears players told Waldron.
According to Glazer, “They said: ‘Hey coach, we’re not a Pop Warner team, you gotta coach us up, coach me up even though I’m in year 19, coach up Caleb even though he’s a rookie. You gotta get more aggressive in coaching us together.’ He (Lewis) does think there is gonna be a difference,” Glazer added. There was certainly a difference vs. the Rams.
If Chicago’s capable play on offense continues — or dare we say continues to improve — the leadership council meeting may prove to have been the catalyst. First, though, Williams and the entire offense will have to string a few more solid games together to show some consistency.
“This is the NFL, right?” head coach Matt Eberflus said after the game. “It’s a one-week league. You win a couple of games and you’re all that and a bag of chips. And then you lose a couple and you’re in the other thing. So it’s water off a duck’s back. You have to make sure that you’re focusing on your job, focusing on what you do and making corrections.”
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