The Los Angeles Rams have run roughshod over the NFC West this season. Thanks to their NFL best record of 11-1 they\u2019ve already clinched the division although they\u2019ve still got to deal with the 10-2 New Orleans Saints if they want to lock down home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. They\u2019ll need some help if they\u2019re going to do it as New Orleans handed the Rams their only loss of the season. They\u2019ll also need to get a win here as they play an extremely tough road game at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n
For some reason, the team formerly known as the \u2018Monsters of the Midway\u2019 have been something of an afterthought this season even with the NFC North lead and a solid 8-4 record. Maybe it\u2019s because their usually tough divisional rivals have fallen off somewhat. The Minnesota Vikings are still in the hunt at 6-5-1 but the Green Bay Packers\u2014the Bears\u2019 arch nemesis\u2014are having a terrible season at 4-7-1. Chicago had won five straight games until they dropped a 30-27 verdict to the New York Giants last Sunday. This setback could have come at a very fortuitous time, however, as it might serve to refocus the team on the challenge at hand after a successful winning run.<\/p>\n
This could be the toughest test the Rams face for the rest of the regular season not only in terms of the Bears\u2019 W\/L record but due to a very challenging situational spot. They catch the Bears coming off the aforementioned loss and welcoming the return of starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The Rams will also face a passionate Chicago crowd in a nationally televised Sunday night game. The Bears have been a nasty opponent at home in recent years. This year they\u2019re 5-1 SU\/ATS but over the past three years they\u2019re 15-6 against the number despite having an 11-11 straight up record.<\/p>\n
Another challenge could be the weather. While it\u2019s not expected to be particularly inhospitable by Chicago in December standards it will be the most challenging conditions that Rams\u2019 quarterback Jared Goff has dealt with in his NFL career. Goff played his college ball at California and the gametime forecast for temperatures in the mid-20\u2019s is a bit out of his element. It\u2019s also in some bad pointspread situations for Los Angeles. They\u2019re 3-7 ATS in December over the past three years, 4-10 ATS against an opponent with a winning record, 1-7 ATS during the last four weeks of the regular season and 2-8 ATS against a plus .500 opponent in the second half of the season.<\/p>\n
Chicago is a better team defensively. They\u2019re #3 in total defense (317.9 yards per game), #11 in pass defense (317.9 YPG) and #2 in rushing defense (85.8 YPG). They\u2019ve also got the #5 scoring defense in the NFL giving up just 20.1 PPG. The Rams have impressive offensive numbers but this will very likely be the toughest defensive matchup the team has faced this season. The Bears lead the NFL in both interceptions and forced fumbles and rank among the top five in sacks. Led by Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, the Bears would love to shut down the high profile Rams with their superstars Goff, Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald. Trubisky could be due for a big night in his first game back due to the Rams 26 to 7 TD to INT ratio in their last 10 games. Before holding Detroit to 16 points last Sunday the Rams had allowed 51, 31, 45 and 27 in their previous four games.<\/p>\n