Bears 24-18 Rams (September 29, 2024) Game Recap

CHICAGO — Once Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense found its rhythm, they began stringing together the kind of possessions the team and its fans regularly imagine.

Williams led four scoring drives, D'Andre Swift had 165 yards and a touchdown and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-18 on Sunday.

The Bears (2-2) scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions in the second half after struggling early. Jaquan Brisker intercepted Matthew Stafford after a punt on the previous play with about a minute left.

Williams threw for 157 yards and a touchdown after setting a Bears rookie record with 363 yards on 52 attempts in a loss at Indianapolis last week. He said this achievement was a step forward.

The No. 1 overall draft pick and former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern California was 17 of 23 with a 9-yard TD pass to DJ Moore in the third quarter. He had no turnovers after coming off a game in which he was fumbled twice and lost a fumble.

“If you don’t have two turnovers, that’s obviously the most important thing,” Williams said. “When you have a defense like we have, a punter and a kicker like we have, you don’t turn the ball over, that goes a long way. You’re going to win a lot of games.”

Swift had his best game since signing with the Bears in March. He was a Pro Bowler with Philadelphia last season and broke off a 36-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made the score 24-15. He finished the game with 16 carries for 93 yards and seven catches for 72 yards.

Roschon Johnson ran for a 1-yard touchdown after a strip sack by Montez Sweat deep in Los Angeles territory in the second quarter, and Chicago finished the game with 131 yards rushing after rushing for 63 yards against the Colts.

“We’re addressing the issues that need to be addressed,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “Early on it was about getting into the huddle and getting into the rhythm and getting out of it and making sure we were doing well there. And then it was about distributing the ball to different skills. We did that. Football is on now. We managed that better today. We simply address the problems. When you build chemistry with a new and young quarterback for the first time, I think that’s just part of the growth.”

Brisker's game-winning pick felt especially good since his interception in the end zone in the first half was negated by a penalty and he was also penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I owe the team one thing: Just get it together, stay tuned, stay focused and try to get the ball at some point today,” said Brisker, who also had a sack in the fourth quarter.

The Bears won for the first time since beating Tennessee in Week 1 and snapped a three-game skid against the Rams (1-3), who had just pulled off a fourth-quarter rally to beat San Francisco.

“The guys stayed in the fight,” Los Angeles coach Sean McVay said. “There were some good things, but there were also some really uncharacteristic mistakes that we made as a team, just some mental mistakes where we let people have their way. And you can't do that if you want to be good, offend and execute consistently.”

Stafford overtakes Eli

Stafford moved ahead of Eli Manning into 10th place on the NFL all-time list with 57,025 yards. The two-time Pro Bowler completed 20 of 29 passes for 224 yards. But he threw a late interception on first down at the Los Angeles 8. The Rams also had trouble finishing drives, with just one touchdown in four trips inside the red zone.

Tutu Atwell had 82 yards receiving, Cooper Kupp (ankle) and Puka Nacua (knee) were out, and Kyren Williams ran for 94 yards and a touchdown.

“They hurt when you lose,” Stafford said. “They are frustrating. I don't really want to sit here and talk to you. There are many things that are frustrating about loss and that consume us. But come Monday it’s time to move on and find a way to get a win next week.”

Williams and Williams

The Bears led 17-9 after Caleb Williams found Moore in the back of the end zone late in the third quarter.

The Rams responded with a 70-yard drive capped by Kyren Williams' 3-yard score on the first play of the fourth. That made it 17:15, but the 2-point conversion pass failed.

Chicago then went 70 yards for another touchdown. Caleb Williams hit Cole Kmet for a clean 22-yard pass over the middle, and Swift jumped over a sweeping linebacker Michael Hoecht at the line on the next play to start his long touchdown run, his first score since signing with the Bears in the offseason.

Joshua Karty made it 24-18 with a 52-yard field goal.

Injuries

Bears: RG Teven Jenkins (ribs) left early in the second quarter after being injured while blocking a run.

Next

Rams: Host Green Bay next Sunday.

Bears: Host Carolina next Sunday.

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