Teams with Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack have been winning with clutch defense in a season of record offense.
Are you ready for some defense? The Monday night game between the Rams (4-2) and Chicago Bears (5-1) at SoFi Stadium pits one good but still-unproven team against another in a fight for Super Bowl-contender legitimacy. The game also pits two defiant defenses against the on-going trend toward flashier offense in the NFL, which has seen scoring rise by five points a game so far this season compared to last year. The theme for this prime-time drama could be: The NFL of 2020 meets the teams of 15-6 and 17-7. Those were the scores of their meetings in 2018, won by the Bears on a freezing December night at Soldier Field, and 2019, won by the Rams on a warm November night at the Coliseum. “Chicago’s a stout defense, a great defense. We like to pride ourselves on being a defensive team as well this year,” Rams safety Taylor Rapp said this week. “Any time you can get that matchup with another great defense, and kind of have that showdown, it’s pretty cool.” Cool, anyway, to the minority of fans and football rule makers who value tight and tactical games over exploding scoreboards and stat sheets. “The scoring is a lot higher,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said of the league average, which is over 50 points a game, an NFL first if it continues all season. “That matters to all the fantasy (league) people out there. But we only care about the win. That’s what we’re focused on.” Nagy’s defense, led by 2019 Pro Bowl outside linebacker Khalil Mack, cornerback Kyle Fuller and safety Eddie Jackson, has secured Bears victories by 1,4,4,4 and 7 points. Two of those wins were sealed by Tashaun Gipson and DeAndre Houston-Carson interceptions, and two ended in defensive stands at the Bears’ 16- and 10-yard lines.
