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The Bears are coming off a 24-18 victory over the LA Rams

The Bears are coming off a 24-18 victory over the LA Rams

It's more of a piece-by-piece approach to the Bears' offense, and on Sunday they added running back D'Andre Swift to the arsenal.

Swift delivered a Matt Forte-type performance, rushing for 93 yards on 16 attempts with a crucial 36-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and catching seven Caleb Williams passes for 72 yards in the Bears' 24-18 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

“I just think it’s growth,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “We have to grow into it. We've only played a few games together. I think we are improving every week. We address the issues that need to be addressed.”

“In the beginning it was about getting in and out of the group and making sure we did well there. We're just addressing the issues when you're building chemistry for the first time with a new and young quarterback. That’s just part of growing.”

They moved tentatively early, outgained 159 yards to 97 in the first half, but still took a 10-6 lead on a 1-yard power run past fullback Doug Kramer, William Perry-style, a Bears backup center. Cairo Santos hit a 40-yard field goal before halftime to offset kicks of 46 and 37 yards by Rams kicker Josh Karty.

As the Rams put on a strong performance early in the second half with drives leading to another field goal and a 3-yard touchdown run by Kyren Williams, Williams and the Bears offense matched the score with two touchdown drives of their own.

First, Williams connected with DJ Moore in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard TD on third-and-5, capping a 12-play, 74-yard march to give the Bears a 17-9 lead bring. Then Swift broke a run 36 yards from left guard, one play after Williams hit Cole Kmet over the middle for 22 yards, and the Bears took a 24-15 lead with a 75-yard drive.

“Amazing,” Moore said. “You just saw Dre fail in the running and passing game today. I mean, it’s a big advantage for us to get it going.”

Williams played a calmer game and finished the game with a passer rating of 106.6, showing that he has also learned since last week. He went 17 of 23 for 157 yards with the only TD for Moore.

However, what he learned last week wasn't about passing it on as touchdowns.

“If you don’t have two turnovers, that’s obviously the most important thing,” Williams said.

In fact, he had three turnovers in the previous game because he lost a strip sack that led to a TD, but who's counting?

“When you have a defense like we have, a punter and a kicker like us and you don't turn the ball over, that goes a long way,” Williams said. “You’re going to win a lot of games.”

The punter proved to be great and the Bears defense secured the decisive win in this game.

Stafford went 20 of 29 for 224 yards but threw the interception to Jaquan Brisker on the Rams' final drive, ending his team's chance at a second straight fourth-quarter comeback.

“I owe the team one,” Brisker said as he reflected.

He had fended off Stafford in the end zone in the second quarter, but had just come back from out of bounds without both feet in the field.

“Just get clear, stay tuned, stay focused and try to get the ball at some point today,” he said after that mistake.

Brisker got it back on first down after punter Tory Taylor pinned the Rams at the 8-yard line for the second straight game. He managed to get back within the 10 mark three times that day.

“He’s got a few different sand wedges, I think, so he’s pretty good,” Eberflus said.

Then Darrell Taylor brought the heat on Stafford and he threw straight to Brisker.

“Last year I dropped it against the Detroit Lions and this (Sunday) I was like, 'I can't drop that again,'” Brisker said. “It felt good to have made the game-winning choice. Especially with Matthew Stafford and things like that.”

With a score of 2-2, they have also managed to look better into the future than after their previous loss to the Colts. Even offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and his assistants could smile after a week when the entire coaching staff appeared to be underwater. Eberflus especially liked how they responded to adversity.

“I just look at our players, try to utilize the entire squad and make sure we’re always thinking forward and being productive,” Eberflus said. “My hat’s off to the offensive staff for taking advantage of people and coming up with the plan to make this happen.”

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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