INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — After months of Chicago Bears debate about Andy Dalton and Justin Fields, it was the most familiar quarterback on the field at SoFi Stadium who took over the Sunday night show.
Matthew Stafford played in 20 games against the Bears over 12 seasons with the NFC North rival Detroit Lions. In the season opener with his new team, the Los Angeles Rams, Stafford attacked the Bears with several big plays to lead a 34-14 victory.
After concerns in the preseason about Dalton barely moving the Bears offense while playing without several starters, the defensive breakdowns against Stafford were the most glaring issue Sunday.
Stafford threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson on the Rams’ first drive. Safeties Tashaun Gipson and Eddie Jackson failed to touch Jefferson when he was down, and Jefferson popped back up to score.
After the Bears cut the Rams lead to 13-7 just before halftime, Stafford threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp on the opening drive of the third quarter. Kupp blew by nickel cornerback Marqui Christian into open field to score.
Stafford added a 37-yard pass to Tyler Higbee during the Rams’ third touchdown drive in the third quarter. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 321 yards and no interceptions. The Bears defense didn’t force any turnovers, and the Rams put the game out of reach when Stafford threw his third touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to Robert Woods with 3 minutes, 17 seconds to play.
Meanwhile, Dalton was merely serviceable in his first start with the Bears after signing a one-year deal in the offseason and getting the opportunity to retain the job over Fields, the Bears’ first-round pick. But Dalton didn’t set the tone early.
He got off to a shaky start when he threw an interception in the end zone to David Long Jr. on a ball tipped by Kenny Young on the opening drive. But he got the Bears in a rhythm late in the first half, when David Montgomery’s 3-yard touchdown run cut the Rams’ lead to 13-7 at halftime.
Dalton also led an 81-yard touchdown drive on the Bears’ first possession of the second half. Fields, who entered to play a handful of downs as many suspected he might, was the one to capitalize with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Dalton completed 27 of 38 passes for 206 yards with the interception and a lost fumble on a fourth-down sack. He was sacked three times.
Fields was 2 of 2 passing for 10 yards. Montgomery rushed for 108 yards on 16 carries.
The Bears lost two left tackles to injury. Veteran Jason Peters left with a quadriceps injury at halftime, and rookie Larry Borom walked slowly off the field after an ankle injury in the third quarter. Elijah Wilkinson filled in for Borom.
