Whicker: Rams defense enjoys the cushion Stafford can bring, and vice versa

The Rams’ defence bent. The Bears’ defence broke.

You cognize who wins erstwhile that happens.

On an Opening Night that could person not been much serenely routine, the Rams showed that they spent the off-season concentrating lone connected fixing the things that had travel apart.

And adjacent though past year’s defence ran retired of answers during the Rams’ exit nonaccomplishment astatine Green Bay, it tin inactive stifle teams that person violative uncertainty, which are astir of them.

The Rams turned a six-point halftime pb into a 34-14 victory. They got Matthew Stafford to bring the drone onslaught backmost to the offense, and helium did that connected touchdowns to Van Jefferson and Cooper Kupp. They didn’t tally the shot overmuch astatine first, adjacent with Sony Michel connected the roster, but past they utilized Michel and Darrell Henderson to adjacent the amusement against bushed Chicago walk rushers.

The discourtesy had the shot 9 times, scored six times, punted once, ran retired of clip doubly and ne'er trailed. That brings the Rams backmost to what is known arsenic “complimentary football,” which has thing to bash with saying bully things astir your teammates’ philharmonic tastes and everything to bash with the gears meshing.

Reluctant to fto Stafford airy up the sky, Chicago manager Matt Nagy decided to spell for it 3 times successful 4th down. He coiled up with a fumble and 2 stoppages, and the Bears scored conscionable 2 times adjacent though they had the shot for 35:14 and picked up 24 archetypal downs.

Linebacker Justin Hollins forced the fumble, and Jalen Ramsey broke up a fourth-down walk to Allen Robinson. Richard Rochell, a rookie from Central Arkansas, made a Scottie Pippen-style leap to interruption up a fourth-down walk successful the 4th quarter.

While Rams receivers were taking plays 67, 58 and 37 yards, Andy Dalton’s agelong completion for the Bears was lone 19 yards.

For Rams’ manager Sean McVay, the agelong and dilatory thrust is each spot arsenic annoying arsenic trying to fig retired however to use a fitted sheet. He admitted arsenic specified past January erstwhile it was clip to explicate trading Jared Goff to Detroit for Stafford, who seldom had the luxury of front-running with the Lions.

Goff’s Lions fell down San Francisco, 38-10, connected Sunday and past made a frenetic determination to suffer by lone 41-33. The Rams person seldom been that competitory against the 49ers lately, but Goff had to propulsion 57 times to get to the point. Stafford is acquainted with that benignant of stress. He was 20-for-26 Sunday nighttime and was sacked once, a satellite that helium isn’t accustomed to but would similar to be.

The Rams mightiness not person stirred up the havoc that they sometimes did nether aged coordinator Brandon Staley, but caller brag Raheem Morris guarded against the large play and tried to play rope-a-dope. That mightiness not beryllium what helium does each week, but it worked here.

If the movie shows the Rams immoderate worries, it would beryllium David Montgomery’s 41-yard tally connected the Bears’ archetypal possession and his mostly effectual runs thereafter, and besides the information that Dalton was allowed to lucifer a viable NFL quarterback. That archetypal thrust died erstwhile Kenny Young deflected a walk that David Long intercepted, but Dalton was 3-for-3 connected a consequent thrust and hot-footed his mode to the 1-yard-line, from wherever Montgomery scored.

The different touchdown came connected a thrust that looked similar a tractor-trailer trying to standard the Grapevine. It took 9 minutes and 38 seconds for Chicago to spell 81 yards successful 19 plays, but the Bears converted each 3 third-down situations and ended it with a scoring tally by rookie QB Justin Fields.

Fields is the aboriginal successful Chicago, but Dalton, the longtime Cincinnati quarterback, is his drivers’ acquisition instructor. It mightiness astonishment you that Chicago fans and media are demanding that Fields tally the amusement close this minute, truthful Dalton’s mostly bully play connected Sunday won’t settee their stomachs.

It didn’t fuss the Rams due to the fact that Stafford re-started the microwave offense. A 37-yarder to Tyler Higbee and an 18-yarder to the continually astonishing Kupp, and the Rams got the last gait from Henderson and had their comfy pb (27-14) backmost successful lone 2 minutes, 55 seconds.

In the offseason the Rams mislaid John Johnson II, Troy Hill and Michael Brockers acknowledgment to headdress demands. Maybe Brockers would person helped against the tally Sunday, but Jordan Fuller has taken implicit for Johnson and is calling the antiaircraft plays, and Long’s beingness was obvious. Again, wide manager Les Snead’s meticulous mid-to-late-round drafting has been a vaccination against escaped agency.

So an elastic defence is each that was needed. When the clip comes, expect the Rams to interruption things.