Rams at Bears
The St. Louis Rams head to Soldier Field on Sunday looking to match last season's entire win total (2-14). Last week may have continued the coming-out party for third-year quarterback Sam Bradford, who passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28 victory over the Washington Redskins. Bradford's quarterack rating of 112.4 is third-best in the league. Rams running back Steven Jackson did not play after getting called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for spiking the ball in the second quarter last week. Coach Jeff Fisher denied reports that Jackson was benched, stating that he didn't stay in the game because of a tight groin. Rookie Daryl Richardson finished with 83 yards in Jackson's absence.
The Bears have been off since last Thursday when they suffered a 23-10 loss at Green Bay and they hope the extra days to prepare for Sunday's game will help boost their struggling offense. Chicago managed just 168 total yards against the Packers as Jay Cutler threw four interceptions and was sacked seven times. Cutler will be under even more scrutiny this week after television cameras showed him cursing and pushing tackle left tackle J'Marcus Webb during the Packers' game.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Bears -7.5, O/U 43
ABOUT THE RAMS (1-1): Bradford is third in the NFL in completion percentage at 71.7 percent, fourth in yards per completion at 8.47 and tied for third in touchdowns with four. For the season, he has completed 43 of 60 passes for 508 yards with four TDs and one interception. Jackson did not practice on Wednesday and is listed as day-to-day. In two career games against the Redskins, he has rushed for 191 yards. On the strength of last week's career-high 15-catch performance, wide receiver Danny Amendola is leading the league in receptions with 20. The Rams are 13th in the NFL in rushing, averaging 114 yards per game. Last season, the Rams didn't win their first game until Week 8. St. Louis' last win over the Bears was a 23-21 victory at Soldier Field on Nov. 16, 2003. Fisher has a 2-2 career mark against the Bears.
ABOUT THE BEARS (1-1): Chicago also has some injury concerns in the backfield as running back Matt Forte sprained his ankle in the third quarter against the Packers and did not return after carrying only seven times for 31 yards. Coach Lovie Smith said the injury was not as serious as first thought but Forte is listed as questionable and was held out of practice Wednesday. If Forte is unable to play, the Bears will go with Michael Bush, who rushed for 977 yards and seven TDs for the Raiders last season after Darren McFadden went down with an injury. Forte ran for 91 yards in the Bears' 17-9 win over the Rams in 2009, the last time the teams played. Defensive end Julius Peppers, who had two sacks last week, also missed practice Wednesday due to a sore foot. Smith is 3-0 against the Rams and the Bears have won the last three meetings between the clubs. Smith served as the Rams' defensive coordinator from 2001-03. Cutler has won five straight at home.
EXTRA POINTS
1. The Bears lead the all-time series with the Rams 50-34-3.
2. Peppers has102 sacks since entering NFL in 2002, third-most during than span
3. With 19 career return touchdowns, Devin Hester is tied with Hall of Famer Deion Sanders for the most in NFL history. Hester returned two kickoffs for TDs against the Rams in 2006.