Chicago Bears: 3 individuals most to blame for loss to Rams

Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson deserves much of the blame for the loss

Maybe the most talked about player during and after the game was starting safety Eddie Jackson and for good reason. Jackson was quite possibly the worst player on the field last night for the Bears, which is not something you would have led me to believe two years ago.

Just six days after saying he holds himself to a much higher standard after a down 2020 season, Jackson looked even worse Sunday night.

The fact is, Jackson was responsible for both long touchdowns from the Rams. The first one was the most embarrassing of the two, which saw second-year wide receiver Van Jefferson catch a deep pass downfield and Jackson actually in a position to make it hurt far less than it did.

Jefferson caught the ball, went to the ground untouched, and Jackson acted as if the play was over. Jefferson stood up and ran it in for the score, while Jackson was left remembering what the rules were. Instead of having the wherewithal to touch him down, Jackson let Jefferson stand up and waltz into the end zone.

The second deep touchdown was caught by Cooper Kupp, who was 15 yards away from the next-closest Bear. Speaking of Kupp, though, an equally embarrassing play came on a 3rd and 12 when Matthew Stafford hit his top target on a screen, and Jackson completely whiffed on a tackle. Kupp went on to earn the first down, extending the Rams’ drive.

The most hilarious part of all, though, was when the Bears released a video of Jackson in practice saying, “Anybody can tackle,” insinuating to some younger players that what will make them special is if they go get the football.

Safe to say, Jackson needs to get back to the basics and learn how to tackle.