3 Keys to a Bears Victory Over the Rams in Week 4

1. Get off to a quick start offensively

The Bears' overall offensive struggles over the first three weeks of the season have been well-documented. Despite the struggles, the Bears' first drives in the past two weeks should have both resulted in points. In Week 2 against the Texans, they had a 6:29 opening drive that ended in a 53-yard field goal. Last week, the Bears' had a 5:27 opening drive that moved the ball 32 yards and resulted in a missed 56-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.

Santos's miss isn't on him, though, since the coaching staff knew it was on the edge of his range. The Bears' offense should have made it a more comfortable distance, but because of bad playcalling that didn't happen.

The Bears' offense opening the last two weeks with drives that should have or did end in points bodes well for them against the Rams. Currently, the Rams are giving up an average of 9.3 first-quarter points, which is the fourth-worst in the NFL.

This has caused them to trail early in games. In each of the Rams' first three games, they have trailed by 14 points or more by the third quarter. In the past two weeks, the Rams were down 14 points or more by the start of the second quarter.

Trailing early in games has put the Rams into a pass-first game plan. While that may have resulted in a win last week against the 49ers, it's not a sustainable winning model.

It seemed like the Bears found a bit of a rhythm in the passing game during the second half against the Colts. If the Bears are able to open the game in that rhythm against the Rams they should take advantage of their poor first quarter defense. If this happens, the Bears will be in a good spot to win the game.