The Los Angeles Rams are ready to win. They've replaced their weakest link, Jared Goff, with Matthew Stafford who appears to be the missing piece for the team. Now, they are set to start the 2021 campaign with high hopes of a better showing this time around.
Of course, there are questions the Rams have to face. Will the Stafford addition be closer to the Tom Brady impact with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Or will it be the same as Kirk Cousins addition with the Minnesota Vikings?
In all likelihood, his impact lands in between those two as the Rams become a formidable playoff team led by Stafford. That all begins in Week 1 as the Bears head to Los Angeles.
4. Stafford throws for 350+ yards and at least three touchdowns
Very few teams are as familiar with Matthew Stafford as the Chicago Bears, and vice versa. Stafford has played his entire career in the NFC North, facing the Bears twice every season and he certainly had some huge games against Chicago.
There were three games in Stafford's Detroit Lions tenure where he threw for at least 350 yards against Chicago, so it wasn't common but still possible.
This Rams roster is one of the best offensive rosters that Stafford has ever played with. The offensive line looks to be a Top 10 group and the weapons are better than what the Lions have had to offer in recent seasons. Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods could both really benefit from the Stafford addition, while Tyler Higbee could get his chance as the lead tight end
Kupp, Woods, Higbee and Darrell Henderson Jr. will be a fine group of weapons for Stafford to work with, beginning in Week 1 against the Bears.
3. The Rams' defense sacks Andy Dalton five times
Elite defensive line led by Aaron Donald himself taking on one of the worst offensive lines with Andy Dalton under center: this is a disaster waiting to happen for the Bears as the NFL's best defense looks to continue it's reign of terror across the NFC this season.
Andy Dalton isn't exactly someone people would describe as mobile, and no one is really sure why he is starting over Justin Fields. Maybe the strategy is just to have Dalton get taken down a ton in Week 1 to avoid injury for Fields and then substitute him in for Week 2 and beyond.
Predicting the Rams to get five sacks is a steep ask, but certainly not an impossible one by any means. Last season, the Rams sacked the quarterback five times in five separate games. That's obviously extremely impressive, but I suppose that's what happens when Aaron Donald is on your offensive line.
Dalton didn't take five sacks in any of his starts in 2020 until the final game of the season against the New York Giants. Going from the Dallas Cowboys' offensive line to the Bears line won't exactly help him avoid it happening again.
2. Both Darrell Henderson Jr. and Sony Michel score a touchdown
Matthew Stafford is already on record with three touchdowns here, so if all these predictions come true, then we've got at least five touchdowns for the Rams this game.
That's not all that unlikely given how hyped up this Rams offense has been all offseason long, as well as the regression this Bears defense has seen in recent years. The Chicago defense has gone from perhaps the best defense in the NFL to middle of the pack in just a couple years. They have the talent on paper to bounce back, but it doesn't seem like the most likely scenario.
The Rams seem likely to split running back duties between Michel and Henderson after seeing Cam Akers go down for the entire season. Neither of the two will blow anyone away, but the two paired up could be very solid and that could begin in Week 1. The likely split is Henderson in the middle of the field and then Michel barreling his way in for a few touchdowns along the way, but this game will see both running backs score a touchdown whether in the air or on the ground.
1. The Rams win by more than the spread
The Rams are favored over the Bears in Week 1 by 7.5 points, a fairly sizable gap. Aside from drafting Justin Fields this offseason, not much has gone right for the Bears and they're still throwing out Andy Dalton in the opener.
Playing the best defense in football and pairing Aaron Donald against the Bears bad offensive line is asking for five or more sacks. It's unlikely Andy Dalton can do enough to hang within seven points of the Rams when it's all said and done.
Stafford will look like the missing piece for this Rams offense. The defense is top-tier, now the offense has one more step to take for this team to join the best of the best.
Many expect LA to reach the Super Bowl this season and that starts with beating the teams worse than them. No doubt the Bears are one of those teams. Mark the Rams down for a big win in week 1 against the Bears.
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