Hub Arkush: Defense shines again on prime-time stage
I had a really bad Monday.
Fortunately, I had the tape of that Bears vs. Rams game to turn my Monday around.
Most Mondays it's my job to watch the tape of the Bears' most recent game.
Today watching that tape wasn't a job, it was my absolute pleasure.
The play of the Bears defense in its 15-6 demolition of the Rams' NFL-best offense was more masterpiece than performance.
Let's start with a little context. The Rams arrived at Soldier Field averaging 422.5 yards per game, 6.48 yards per play, 132.7 yards rushing per game, 25 first downs and 36.2 points per game.
As you know, the Bears held them more than 30 points below their usual output, to 214 yards of total offense, just 52 yards rushing with 19 of it coming on the last play of the game running out the clock on Justin Davis' first carry of the season, 14 first downs and a stunning 3.5 yards per offensive play.
Study the tape and you will not find a single Bear defender that earned less than a B or even a B-plus on the evening, so it's much easier to talk about those who stuck out.
Khalil Mack will be a unanimous choice as a first team All Pro outside linebacker this year, but he had not dominated games as he did in the first quarter of the season since spraining his ankle in Week Six in Miami.
He was so dominant Sunday night that he left Aaron Donald thinking "No Mas" in their Defensive Player of the Year showdown.
Leonard Floyd had a breakout game, playing brilliantly in every phase - vs. the run, in coverage, rushing the passer and even lining up at nose tackle and torturing the interior of the Rams O-line.
You have to stop counting this kid's sacks. If he wasn't already, Sunday night vs. the Rams is when Floyd became a legit stud.
Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman and Roy Robertson-Harris owned the line of scrimmage all night. Had they charged Andrew Whitworth, Roger Saffold and Rob Havenstein rent just for playing on it, I'm sure those Rams would have been too embarrassed not to pay.
We're getting used to outstanding performances from Eddie Jackson and Prince Amukamara, so the Rams game felt pretty much like just the new normal. But we have to call out Kyle Fuller and Sherrick McManis.
The last real chance the Rams had to turn the game around was following Mitch Trubisky's third pick with 11 minutes to play and down just nine. So of course Fuller stepped in on the very next play to take the ball right back with an outstanding pick of his own.
When Bryce Callahan went down with a bum foot that my sources are telling me may be serious, it took the Rams all of about 10 seconds to find McManis, and all he did was lead the team in tackles on the night.
The night was not strictly about the defense.
For anyone who's tried to claim Jordan Howard isn't Jordan Howard anymore, stop yourself. He gets an A-plus.
The offensive line got a brilliant scheme from coach Harry Hiestand, and with combinations of double teams, misdirection and some flat-out, in-your-face power running, completely nullified Donald.
It didn't hurt that for some inexplicable reason, Wade Phillips chose to line Ndamukong Suh outside on the end a good part of the evening. Regardless, the entire line played well - Bobby Massie had a few struggles - and James Daniels, like Floyd, had a breakout game.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky had an awful evening, and other than Allen Robinson, who notched the most impressive 5-42 I've seen in a while, he didn't get a ton of help. But there are multiple Pro Bowlers in that Rams secondary.
Returning from a two-game hiatus at this stage of his development, Trubisky gets a C-minus, but he also gets a pass until we see if he's corrected all the wild high throws we saw vs. the Rams when the Packers get here Sunday.
Bottom line, the tape showed that at least for one Sunday night these Chicago Bears might be able to play with - and beat - anybody in the NFL.
• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.