After one start, we’ve seen all that we needed to see.
Chicago Bears quarterback Andy Dalton is a fine signal-caller. Any team would be thrilled to have his experience and leadership in the locker room. That doesn’t mean he should be the starting quarterback for the Bears, however.
On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Rams finally were able to open their brand new stadium — SoFi Stadium — with fans in attendance. It was the debut for former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in a Rams uniform, and he quickly proved that he still has quite a bit left in his tank.
The Rams moved to 1-0 on the year, easily handling the Bears 34-14.
The Rams offense was explosive with Stafford behind center, a very nice change of pace from the years of Jared Goff leading the offense. Stafford was an incredibly efficient 20-26 for 321 yards and three touchdowns. On his second throw in a Rams uniform, Stafford showed the Rams faithful what they’ve been missing, uncorking a 67-yard bomb to Van Jefferson for LA’s first touchdown of the season.
“It was great job by [Stafford] being able to flip his hips and make an unbelievable throw,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I think that’s kind of one of those things — he’s gifted, he’s got a great ability to be able to change his arm slot and make all types of throws, whether it be short, intermediate or down the field, but he’s — you’re not limited in anything you can do with him in the pass game.”
And then there was Dalton.
Bears head coach Matt Nagy went with Dalton over first-round draft pick Justin Fields in week one, and while Dalton was certainly serviceable, nothing he did was spectacular.
On Chicago’s first drive, the Bears quickly marched down the field to the Rams eight-yard line. On third and six, Dalton’s pass into the endzone was tipped and then intercepted, ending Chicago’s chance at a quick start.
Tipped and PICKED! #RamsHouse
📺: #CHIvsLAR on NBC
📱: https://t.co/43poz14yhK pic.twitter.com/hCq9yORaVd— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2021
It wasn’t that Dalton was bad — he finished the night 27-38 for 206 yards and zero touchdowns — it was that he did absolutely nothing to prove that playing him in front of the Bears quarterback of the future makes sense. With a banged-up offensive line, the Bears used a dink-and-dunk offense in order to get the ball out of Dalton’s hands quickly.
Fields was used sparingly by Nagy, completing both passes he attempted for 10 yards and rushing for a three-yard touchdown.
“We had the plan and we stuck to our plan,” Nagy said. “We knew where and when we were going to use him and we stuck to that. And so, we’ll see where that goes and how we do it. But I think we all understand that for us, strategically, we’ll see where we go with that — without giving anything away.”
Sooner rather than later, Fields will be behind center for Chicago, though Nagy didn’t seem to be leaning toward starting Fields in week two.
“We’ll see where that goes and how we do it,” Nagy said. “But I think we all understand that for us, strategically, we’ll see where we go with that, without giving anything away.”
It’s obvious that Dalton is simply a stop-gap until Nagy feels that Fields is ready, and the Bears faithful will be not-so-patiently waiting for him to make the switch.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.