Category Archives: Anatomy

Shawn stepped into the UCLA Vine Street Clinic in Hollywood with confidence. He offered up his arm. The UCLA doctor injected him. It took seconds; there was barely a sting.

Twenty-four hours after the first of two shots, given 28 days apart, he suffered the headaches and fatigue associated with a milder case of COVID-19. But Shawn remained calm, resolved to honor the memory of his mother, a nurse who had died in May 2020 from an unrelated cause.

The 57-year-old nonprofit worker had been thinking about the challenges of COVID-19 for a long time, and he decided to go through the lengthy consent process for the medical trial. It gave me something to do with my anger that was so much better than yelling at someone for not wearing a mask, he says. And [at UCLA] I felt I was in good hands.

Shawn is one of many volunteers who have stepped up to participate in medical trials at UCLA, which is part of a global network thats determined to help find a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

The stakes are huge. More than 250,000 Americans have already died, and there have been more than 1 million deaths around the world. Economies have been brought to their knees, social tensions have disrupted communities and emotional maladies are on the rise.

In response, doctors and scientists have been challenged to be resilient and ingenious. Theyre taking an array of different approaches, knowing that public confidence in vaccines hangs in the balance.

In addition, it has been a challenge to create a vaccine in such a short amount of time similar efforts have taken five to 10 years. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and biotech firm Moderna have both reported remarkable progress, announcing in November that their vaccine candidates were more than 90% effective. All of which has raised questions about the next steps, such as how the vaccines will be distributed.

I dont want to make a vaccine to protect against mild disease, says Dr. Marcus Horwitz, distinguished professor of medicine and microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. I want to protect people who are going to get severe disease.

Horwitz has already developed vaccines against the bacteria behind tuberculosis, anthrax and the tick-borne disease tularemia, but he has never tried to create a vaccine against a virus. When faced with a worldwide pandemic, we thought we might be able to make a contribution, he says.

Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize and fight disease-causing pathogens, such as viruses or bacteria. Doctors introduce the bodys immune system to antigens, which are molecules from the virus or bacteria, and the immune system responds by making proteins called antibodies and immunity-building T cells, which both neutralize the pathogen.

The delivery of these antigens requires a delicate calculus: It must provoke the immune system, but not go so far as to make the patient ill. You need a vector that will wake up the immune system of the host, but not cause any further harm, Horwitz says.

The vaccine approach by Horwitz and his team, including lead investigator Qingmei Jia, is a medical outlier: They adapted an existing antibacterial platform to build protection against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The team has shown that their vaccine candidate protects hamsters, which develop severe disease in a way similar to humans.

Some of the potential vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 use a weakened form of an adenovirus, which causes the common cold, to deliver the S protein that is found on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Horwitzs vaccine stands out from the pack because it uses a weakened bacterium to deliver two SARS-CoV-2 proteins, the M and N proteins.

That difference could have a tremendous impact. Billions of COVID-19 vaccine doses are needed, and bacteria, unlike viruses, are easy and cheap to produce and transportable.

The success of a COVID-19 vaccine also depends on the immune system, which can be less robust in older people.

This is a problem that has driven Song Li, chair of the bioengineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, who has focused his career on cell and tissue engineering. Adapting a concept from cancer immunotherapy, Li is developing a biomaterial vaccine booster using artificial cells that could improve the immune systems ability to generate long-term protection.

When the immune system encounters a destructive pathogen, it produces cells that are designed to attack the invader. A small number of those cells, called T memory stem cells, can stay in the system for years ready for a future invasion. Unfortunately, our ability to produce T memory stem cells declines as we get older. Li hopes his booster, in combination with a vaccine, can help fragile immune systems effectively fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

My goal at the outset was to help the elderly population, Li says. But it could be useful for any person whose immune system needs help generating protection from the virus.

Another UCLA team led by Bogdan Pasaniuc, Dr. Manish Butte and Dr. Daniel Geschwind, the Gordon and Virginia MacDonald Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics at the Geffen School of Medicine is trying to find out why the virus significantly impacts some, but leaves others relatively unscathed.

We know age is a major factor, but we see older people who get infected and do quite well, Geschwind says. We have a limited ability to predict how sick someone will get. His team hopes that studying whole-genome sequences from thousands of COVID-19 patients will reveal hidden factors that make some more vulnerable than others. The research could help identify people who are at higher risk for infection as well as develop new treatment and prevention strategies.

Dr. Brigitte Gomperts, professor of pediatrics and pulmonary medicine and a member of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, is studying how COVID-19 affects lung tissue. By using stem cellderived clusters of lung cells, known as organoids, she can rapidly screen thousands of prospective treatments. Because the organoids are grown from human cells and reflect the cell types and architecture of the lungs, they can offer insights into how the virus infects and damages the organ.

At UCLA medical centers around Los Angeles County, physicians are ensuring that their medical trials include diverse groups of people and women of all ages.

COVID-19 has hit the African American and Latino communities particularly hard, says Dr. Jesse Clark, associate professor-in-residence in the department of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine. We have to make sure that any vaccine has been determined to be safe and effective in all populations that will receive it.

COVID-19 has hit the African American and Latino communities particularly hard. We have to make sure that any vaccine has been determined to be safe and effective in all populations that will receive it.

Dr. Jesse Clark, associate professor-in-residence in the department of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Clark is medical director of the UCLA Vine Street Clinic, which is involved in the Moderna clinical trial. Notably, Modernas vaccine works differently from a typical vaccine, because it doesnt contain the virus at all. Instead, it uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, which uses the bodys genetic code to produce antibodies against the virus.

CNN mentioned that the vaccine trials were having trouble finding minorities to participate, says Roderick, a 37-year-old IT manager and father of two, who is participating in the Moderna trial. Being Black and Mexican, and knowing how hard my demographic has been hit, I just went ahead and signed up online. Its worth doing to help out.

Meanwhile, Dr. Katya Corado, an infectious disease specialist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, has been enrolling patients in a phase 3 clinical trial of an adenovirus vector vaccine thats under development by the University of Oxford and the biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

All vaccines undergo three phases of clinical trials, according to rules set by the Food and Drug Administration. Phase 1, which involves 20 to 100 volunteers, tests the safety and dosage of the vaccine. Phase 2 tests the drugs efficacy and side effects among several hundred participants, and phase 3 gathers more information about a vaccines safety and effectiveness by studying thousands of volunteers.

In the phase 3 trial, we focus on studying how effective the vaccine is in populations that need it most, Corado says.

Clark and Corado are both hopeful that their work can protect the most vulnerable, which includes people over 65, patients with chronic conditions, those facing economic disadvantages and essential workers.

Inoculations have eradicated past epidemics, such as smallpox. But public faith in vaccines has wavered, especially when a now-disproven report in 1998 suggested that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was linked to autism spectrum disorder. That has led to U.S. outbreaks of measles, which had been previously eliminated. So scientists recognize the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine right.

There are other factors to consider as well. Vaccine distribution will be high on the agenda of the incoming White House administration, but if supply is limited, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends prioritizing certain groups, such as medical workers.

Also, some vaccines currently in development need to be stored in ultra-cold conditions. For example, Pfizers vaccine must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius, while Modernas vaccine must be kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius the temperature of a regular freezer. These factors will affect how the vaccines are distributed.

Some lawmakers have advocated letting the virus run its course in the hopes of achieving herd immunity, which is when enough people have become immune to an infectious disease, either through being infected or vaccination. Since the COVID-19 vaccine is still pending, a majority of people will need to be infected in order to achieve herd immunity and that comes at a terrible cost.

According to Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, professor-in-residence of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, up to 2 million Americans would have to die before the country reached herd immunity.

He argues that vaccines work, even if they are not perfectly safe or perfectly effective, as proven by the near-eradication of polio. But approving vaccines prematurely to buckle under the pressure of politics or profit could cause a terrible backlash against being vaccinated, which could lead to future outbreaks.

We want to make sure we are not cutting corners, Kim-Farley says, that we are getting the best vaccine that has the highest efficacy, the longest duration, the fewest number of side effects [with] the fewest number of doses.

This is a very high-stakes game, and its important to get it right, without recalls or playing into the [anti-vaccination] narrative. What still concerns me is the equitable distribution of vaccines to make sure that countries that are not as wealthy as us have access to these life-saving vaccines. We are all members of one global community.

Read this article:
Anatomy of a vaccine: What it takes to create a safe, effective COVID shot - University of California

The opening moments of 90 Day Fiancs eighth season, which premiered Sunday evening, are a brain-melting series of smash cuts, shock reveals, and, some might argue, assaults to more refined viewing senses. Audiences are introduced to Brandon, a 27-year-old farmer who lives with his parents and never really had a girlfriend growing up. After a few atmospheric cutaway shots showing Brandon tending to sheep in rural Virginia, Brandons unlikely love interest appears: Julia, a brunette go-go dancer from metropolitan Russia. After a slick montage of Julia sliding down a stripper pole, gyrating in a bra, and posing in a thong, Brandon solemnly explains, I fell in love immediately.

In a flashback, we learn that Brandon decided to propose to Julia after five months of dating and only one in-person meetingwhich, in the 90 Day-verse, feels like a reasonable courtship. And now that Julia has been granted her K-1 visa, the couple has 90 days, once Julia lands, to marry, or else Julia will have to return to Russia.

As if that time constraint is not intimidating enough, Julia will also have to acclimate to life on a farm in a foreign country with her fiancs controlling mother who, at the start of the episode, questions Julias motives, and by the end of the episode, will call a doctor to inquire about getting Julia on birth control. Brandon and Julia are just one of seven couples that the roller-coaster eighth season follows.

At a time when most television audiences have seemingly jumped the linear-programming ship in favor of the deep, bingeable-content seas of streaming services, 90 Day Fiancs numbers continue to grow. Since the series was introduced in 2014, TLC has spun the show off into over 10 franchise legsand in the process, has become the years leading cable channel for women, as well as the top television destination on Sunday and Monday nights for adults this summer. This year alone, according to TLC, viewers have consumed a staggering 73 billion minutes of 90 Day and its children. This week, the network announced its new streaming service, Discovery+, will contain four additional spin-offs and more than 200 total hours of bingeable 90 Day content when it debuts January 4the closest TLC can get to injecting its tried-and-true variety of vrit into viewers veins.

The genius of the series, created by Matt Sharp, is that beneath its slick editing are real-life couples who were already struggling to obtain K-1 visas when his production team found them. While reality series like The Bachelor or The Real Housewives ply their stars with wine and manipulate social setups to breed petty drama, 90 Days couples were living out their highest-stakes romantic lives before being cast on the show. By the time TLC turns on its cameras, the couples are usually emotionally drained by the parameters of their long-distance relationships, financially drained by expensive K-1 paperwork, and, in some cases, worn down by critical friends and family members. No priming for drama is necessary.

These people arent just doing this for a television show, Sharp told Vanity Fair. This is their life. They put it on the line for this other person, and this is very real to them.

This seasons returning cast member Tarik Meyers explained that, when he was first cast on the series with his partner Hazel Cagalitan, he had been through such a grueling gauntlet that he didnt have the energy to put on a show for the cameras.

When you have two different embassies breathing down your neck, basically going over your life with a fine-tooth comb, and then the camera crew gets there, its like, Oh, you again? said Meyers.

The 90 Day team said that primarily, theyre looking for cast members who can be totally transparent about their journey.

Were really looking for people to open up and be comfortable letting us in, said Sharp, explaining that his producers aim for each confessional-style interview to feel like youre sitting on the end of the bed with your best friend, and that best friend is really opening up and telling you what the deal is with their relationship.

Added TLC president Howard Lee, A really good cast member can articulate their thoughts powerfully, quickly, directlyand they wear their hearts on their sleeves. They do not hold back. They want to process everything thats on their mind.

Meyersa rapper and single father who describes himself as a cross between Carlton Banks from the Fresh Prince and Ice Cubesaid that he definitely fits that archetype.

With me, what you see is what you get, said Meyers. I just let people see it, good or bad.

Meyers said that he found the process of appearing on the show therapeutic. Until seeing the series, he didnt know of anyone else who flew overseas to date: I thought I was like a unicorn. When he heard about the series, he said, I was like, Really, theyve got a show about crazy people like me? Meyers laughed. I started watching it and I was like, WowI didnt know we had a home.

Brutal, unguarded honesty is critical to the messiness quotient of the series as well. Were not looking to tell a puppies and rainbows story, confirmed Sharp, and were not looking to tell something thats entirely negative. Were just looking to tell an honest story.

Interestingly enough, criminal backgrounds are not enough to disqualify a candidate, as long as that criminal background is neither violent nor boring. Many times we embrace that as part of our storytelling, said Sharp of the franchise, which has cast people charged with second-degree arson, theft and forgery, and felony possession of marijuana. We know everyone has a past, and not everyone is proud of everything theyve done in the past. Sometimes that enriches their story.

Read more:
90 Day Fianc: The Anatomy of TVs Most Addictive Reality Show - Vanity Fair

Welcome back to the Anatomy of a Goal, where each week we dissect one goal (or near goal) from the Columbus Crews previous match.

For the 2020 MLS Eastern Conference Final, we take a look at Arturs 59th minute goal that gave the Crew a 1-0 win against the New England Revolution, setting up Columbus as the host of the 2020 MLS Cup.

Here is a look at the historic goal from the Black & Golds Brazilian midfielder.

The Crew took the field against New England knowing that a win would bring the MLS Cup Final to Columbus the following week. First, the Black & Gold would have to silence the Revolutions potent attack.

The first half of the 2020 Eastern Conference Final went almost exactly as the Crew dreamt despite the 0-0 score at the whistle. Columbus controlled 54 percent of possession and put five shots on goal to the Revolutions zero. But for some excellent goaltending by Matt Turner, the Black & Gold would have entered halftime with at least one goal.

Arturs game-winner begins with a Crew corner kick in the 59th minute. Lucas Zelarayan lines up to hit an in-swinging kick into the goal box .

As Zelarayan steps up to the kick, Columbus attackers begin their movements. Darlington Nagbe (6 in the above picture) situates himself at the top of the 18-yard box to collect any ball that makes its way out and to help break up any Revolution counter attacks. Gyasi Zardes (11) is positioned on the edge of the six-yard box to flick any short corners into the front of the goal. Artur (8, to the left of Zardes) is set up in a similar spot and is tasked with heading the ball directly on goal. Jonathan Mensah (4) and Josh Williams (3) are the two direct headed-shot targets in this play. Mensah roams free in the middle of the penalty box while Williams will collect any ball that reaches the back post.

Zelarayans corner makes its way to Mensah who is marked by Scott Caldwell.

The kick just misses Matt Polster but neither Mensah nor Caldwell are able to get a clean touch onto the ball.

Caldwell ends up on the ground while the both teams search for the ball, which just happens to have fallen right in to the side of Polster.

Polster finds the ball and quickly must decide whether to clear the ball, play a quick pass forward to Gustavo Bou (7) or make a short pass to Tajon Buchanan (17).

Polster scuffs an attempted clearance but slices the ball right to Buchanan.

Buchanan keeps his eyes on the ball and tees up a clearance.

The Revs young right back is able to get off his clearance and sends the ball toward midfield.

Harrison Afful, one of the shorter players for the Black & Gold, stayed back on defense during the corner kick and is in position to pick up Buchanans clearance as the ball takes an awkward bounce just before reaching him.

Afful has time to settle the ball but hits an awkward attempted pass back into the 18-yard box after the ball takes a difficult bounce.

Affuls attempted pass ends up soaring high into the air and falling down between Pedro Santos and Luis Diaz. The Crew attackers battle Carles Gil for possession of the ball.

Diaz out-jumps Gil and glances a headed pass to Zelarayan.

Zelarayan easily receives Diazs header and Gil shits his defensive attention to Columbus No. 10.

Zelarayan collects the ball and the Black & Gold begin a secondary attack. Mensah had tracked back defensively, but sees open space ahead of him. Williams tracks back to provide defensive cover as his center back partner rejoins the attack. Artur also shifts forward into an attacking position.

Zelarayans deft ball-work to beat Gil and send a cross into the penalty box is worth a look at in slow motion before we break it down.

First, Zelarayan makes a hard cut with his left foot, sending the ball a few feet toward midfield and setting Gil off balance. Artur and Mensah continue their runs toward the goal.

Gil scrambles to recover while Zelarayan prepares a quick Cruyff turn where he plants his left foot, sends the ball behind his left leg with his right foot and speeds off the other direction.

From this angle, you can see just how much open space Mensah has ahead of him.

Zelarayans Cruyff turn sets Gil off balance and sends the Crew attacker toward the goal.

From the TV angle, you can see Gil plant hard on both feet after Zelarayan has already gone the other direction.

Zelarayan carries forward with Gil trailing. Artur and Mensah set up at the top of the 18-yard box. From this angle, you can see Artur and Mensah turn to look at each other. Both players know exactly where the other will be, setting up Mensahs eventual pass into the path of Artur.

Zelarayan is out in front of Gil and has four options. He can play a quick pass forward to Santos, attempt to carry the ball forward, try a difficult through pass to Zardes or a back-post cross to Mensah.

Columbus No. 10 spots his captain at the back post and hits a long cross into the 18-yard box.

Mensah settles into position. If the ball makes it past Buchanan, the captain will have the chance to take a first-touch shot or make a quick pass. Artur sprints into the box to provide a passing option for his teammate.

Mensah is too far out to try a headed shot so he prepares to receive the ball with his feet. Buchanan is about three yards away and just turns in time to see Mensah prepare to receive the ball. Artur sprints, unmarked, toward the top of the box.

Mensah receives the ball and can either take a touch toward the goal, hit a first-touch shot on goal play a quick pass into the path of Artur or play a pass toward Zardes on the other post.

Mensah knows that Artur is trailing just behind him and that he will be making a run into the box, so he plays a first-touch pass toward the midfielder.

Polster is on the wrong side of Artur, giving the Brazilian a direct path toward the ball.

Artur approaches the ball, with Polster attempting to defend with four options. He can try to find Zardes near the six-yard box, hit a first-touch shot on goal, attempt to carry the ball forward or play a pass back to Mensah.

Artur hits a first touch shot with his left foot. Somehow, the Brazilian is able to put a slight curve on the ball that sends it just inside the goal post.

Arturs shot speeds between Henry Kessler and Buchanan leaving Turner as the Revolutions last line of defense.

Turner lays out for the ball as it rolls toward the goal line.

The ball misses Turners finger tips by a few inches . . .

. . . beating the New England goalkeeper and rolling . . .

. . . into the back of the net!

Findings:

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Anatomy of a Goal: Artur books the Columbus Crews ticket to MLS Cup - Massive Report

Somehow, Matt Nagy's explanation Monday for what went down on the lakefront Sunday didn't quite suffice.

"It was a higher-scoring game that we weren't able to finish," Nagy said.

And that 1865 scene in Ford's theater was a theatrical production with an interruption.

The complete Bears collapse on Sunday in the final five minutes had numerous intricate pieces involved, and changing any of them might have prevented a catastrophe, even embarrassment.

They could have been tied for the NFC wild-card lead, but their 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions instead fueled speculation about the firing of Nagy and GM Ryan Pace, if not a restructuring of the entire organization.

Part 1: The Defensive Collapse

Nagy pointed out they've wanted this chance late in games to let their defense tee off without concern over the opponents' running game, so a 30-20 lead with five minutes left was exactly what they wanted.

It would give them a chance for the secondary to make plays on ill-advised, rushed passes. Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks could rush Matthew Stafford.

"If you asked me in the middle of the season, beginning of the season, where we're at in that situation, I'd tell you 10 out of 10 times we're going to end up with it at the end, we're going to get a big stop, we're going to end the game with the ball in our hands and win," Nagy said.

Instead it was the reverse of the early season when the offense couldn't move and the defense propped up everything.

A 96-yard drive allowed in 2:15 over seven plays and got the Lions a chance at the win.

"I know that our defensive guys in that moment, they get that back, they want another opportunity at that," Nagy said. "We just got to get that one game where all three phases are playing together and I think it will show our guys how sturdy of a team we can be. We just haven't done it."

The defense caved in so poorly that Detroit was able to retain all of its timeouts and also have the two-minute warning left in case they got the ball back, which they did.

"It was obviously well done by them on offense and I think that right there, you know when we look back that's where we want to either be able to make them use more time, at worst make them kick a field goal, but certainly be able to stop them there," Nagy said.

Part 2: The Kickoff Failure

Some teams might try an onside kick with 2:18 remaining. The Lions opted to kick deep. The Bears put their hands team on the field just in case, and had rookie Darnell Mooney back deep instead of Cordarrelle Patterson. He returned it sideways and the Bears were pinned back at their own 11.

Even if Trubisky hadn't fumbled, they'd have been punting from the goal line and giving Stafford plenty of time to manage at least a tying drive.

Nagy said the choice made was intended to make sure they got the ball, more than anything else.

"That's one there where field position-wise, with where that was at and being a three-point game, I think you can certainly go either way," Nagy said. "We decided to go that way with the onside kick, to protect that."

They got the ball, but at their own 11. So the offense was going to need to generate at least one first down and couldn't do it.

Part 3: The Strip-Sack

Mitchell Trubisky tried to pass from inside the pocket. Guard Germain Ifedi, who has been forced to play right tackle due to Bobby Massie's knee injury, didn't stay square in his pass block stance and gave the edge to Romeo Okwara, who came around and knocked it loose as Trubisky got set to throw. Defensive tackle John Penisini recovered at the 7-yard line for Detroit. The throw was meant for Anthony Miller, but Trubisky had an option in safe routes over the middle to Darnell Mooney and David Montgomery, as well. He was going for Mooney.

"Could you go back and could you try to run a screen or do something like that, or throw it behind the sticks and keep the clock running? You could always look at doing that," Nagy said.

The clock wouldn't have run long because the two-minute warning was approaching.

"But we all collectively as a staff, we felt good about that; I think our players did," Nagy said. "It was just something where unfortunately Ifedi, he just kind of opened up his hips a little bit. The kid made a good rush off the edge.

"I think Mitch was just getting ready versus zone when Mooney was getting ready to burst to his last three steps. He was gonna give it to him. And it would have been probably a little short of the sticks and try to fall forward for the first. But timing-wise, we just weren't able to get it out."

Part 4: The Final Drive

The Bears still had a chance at the win and had one timeout left when for some reason Allen Robinson chose to run out of bounds a yard short of the stick when he could have pressed the issue and challenged a tackler who had fallen. If he hadn't gotten out, they had a timeout left but would have had only 11 seconds left to score from the 19 without a timeout. It was a split-second decision.

Robinson twice before this season has shorted a play near the stick and did it again, except this time it was in the closing seconds.

"I have not yet talked to him personally about that yet," Nagy said on Monday. "After a game like that, there are just so many raw emotions that we're all going through. I think that's real. Let it out a little bit from everybody's side, because everybody cares.

"That's one in the heat of the moment when you catch that ball, it is a crucial situation. Allen's a super smart guy. He has a high football IQ. That's one where you think, 'OK, there's not much time on the clock, I need to get out of bounds.' But it's in a position where you can still get the first. And if you get the first, you stay in bounds, then we're going to have to use that timeout, which is what we end up trying to do when we ran the ball on fourth-and-1 and didn't get it.So, I know for sure that Allen was trying to do both; he was trying to get the first and get out of bounds. He did get out of bounds. He didn't get the first."

And Besides All That ...

Two other aspects of the collapse, subplots if you will, went totally unmentioned by Nagy: 1) How the defense went into a fetal position on second-and-goal from the 5 after Trubisky's fumble and 2) the offense's inability to put it away when given the chance.

If they force a field goal after Trubisky's fumble, the last Bears drive only needs to be only for a field goal to win it. They reached the Detroit 20. Cairo Santos has made 16 straight. They should win. Jaylon Johnson and Roquan Smith both had good chances to stop Adrian Peterson on his 5-yard go-ahead TD run but couldn't take him down. And Smith was leading the NFL in solo tackles.

As for the offense, they had just as much responsibility as the defense.

The defense got them the ball back with Bilal Nichols' interception of a Matthew Stafford fourth-quarter screen pass. They had it in Detroit territory on consecutive series after that pick while owning a 30-20 lead. They punted both times.

Change any of these things and Detroit goes home a loser, but instead the Lions made up for their own blown win in the first game of the year by putting the onus of shame back on the Bears.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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The Anatomy of a Collapse: AKA, How Bears Did the Impossible - Bear Maven

The 49ers finished the sweep of the Rams this season last Sunday largely on the back of their defense, who intercepted quarterback Jared Goff twice, including one pick-six to open the second half, recorded two sacks, and forced two fumbles, which the defense both recovered. It was the most complete defensive performance in a season full of injuries and uncertainty surrounding the teams fate as they enter the final quarter of the season.

While the pick-six and interceptions are noteworthy plays, todays Anatomy of a Play series is going to focus on how the 49ers shut down the Rams favorite passing concept: the weakside choice route to Cooper Kupp.

The Rams favorite passing concept to Cooper Kupp this season is a simple choice route. The choice route gives the receiver a 3-way go with the option to sit in the zone at a depth of six yards or cut across the field or cut to the outside in the flat depending on whether the defense plays man coverage and what leverage they have on the receiver. The most important aspect for the quarterback is being in sync with the receiver and seeing the same coverage post-snap as the receiver.

For the Rams, the choice route on a passing concept called choice stucko is the preferred call to Kupp in high leverage situations on 2nd or 3rd and short. The Rams have called the play for several big plays this season.

Choice stucko is a passing concept where the choice route is primarily run from the slot or from the outside receiver in a stack formation.

The receiver to the same side runs a comeback if the choice is in the slot and runs a corner route if the choice is the outside stack receiver. The choice is the first read, with the corner/comeback being the second read. The other side has a stick china route from the tight end, or slot and a widen scout route as the alert with the option of converting that into a go route. The stick china is the third read in the progression.

Cooper Kupp has had two big plays running the choice route on this play from both the slot and the outside number one in the stack.

In both plays in the clips above, Kupp cuts to the inside off defenders with outside leverage. In the clip against the Eagles, the corner is playing off slightly as Kupp takes an outside track at the defenders outside shoulder, getting him to widen. He slow rolls his release and cuts inside, where Goff finds him for a gain of 24 yards. In the clips against the Giants, The Giants send a snake blitz (slot corner blitz), so the safety rolls over to cover Kupp. He takes away the outside as Kupp widens him, but Kupp cuts inside, catches the pass, and sprints to the end zone for the touchdown.

In week six, in their first meeting, the 49ers denied the Rams opportunities to run this route effectively, and the Rams offense suffered; as a result, being forced into unwanted third-and-long situations or punts.

In week 12, the Rams tried throw to Kupp twice on the choice route on choice stucko, and both times Goff was sacked by Kerry Hyder because he held onto the ball too long after coming off his initial read. It helped that no one was open too, but Goff has enough veteran presence to know that he shouldve thrown the ball away.

1st sack, 2nd quarter 1:43, 1st and 10 at LAR 20

The Rams are running choice stucko this time with Kupp in the slot. But the Rams designed this with a wrinkle. The tight end Gerald Everett (No. 81) is flexed out wide left, making this the strong side of the formation.

The 49ers are playing cover-1 with a low hole dropper to the strong linebacker Dre Greenlaw (No. 57), with Jimmie Ward (No. 20) in the slot covering Kupp. The Rams figure it might be easier to complete the choice route over the middle with Greenlaw rather than Warner as the hole dropper.

Ward follows Kupp on the motion across before the snap. As Goff drops back and looks for Kupp running the choice from the slot, Greenlaw flies to the route as the low hole defender.

Goff has nowhere to throw as Kupp cuts inside so he scans his other progressions and takes a sack from Kerry Hyder.

2nd sack, 4th quarter 9:38, 3rd and 4 at LAR 36

The play call is the same except this time Kupp is the number one receiver in the stack to the left running the choice underneath Van Jefferson on the corner route.

This time the 49ers send Warner to the weak side because the tight end is over to the opposite of the stack bunch. Theyre still playing cover-1 with Warner as the low hole dropper.

Verrett is in coverage over Kupp to the outside this time, with Ward covering the tight end to the opposite side. Goff drops back and looks for Kupp, but Warner sinks under the route and takes away Goffs primary read. Goff has nowhere to go and Hyder cleans up with his second sack of the game.

The 49ers swept the Rams again this season, and 4-0 over the last two seasons with Kyle Shanahan improving to 5-3 over his former colleague Sean McVay. This time, the win came on the back of a superior defensive performance by Robert Saleh.

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Anatomy of a play: How the 49ers denied the Rams their favorite passing concept and generated sacks - Niners Nation

With 9:50 left in the Bills Monday night game over the 49ers, and Buffalo already up 27-17, quarterback Josh Allen threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Gabriel Davis in which several San Francisco defensive backs appeared to be very confused. It was a bad play for the 49ers in what turned out to be a 34-24 win for Buffalo.

Pre-snap, you can see cornerback Richard Sherman communicating with safety Dontae Johnson. What might Sherman have been saying? Sherman was probably imploring Johnson to make an alert call to run the coverage to the actions of slot receiver Cole Beasley. Beasley ran a quick five-yard in-cut, while Davis ran up the boundary. In a basic Cover-1 or Cover-3 call, you probably have Sherman on Davis to the boundary, but based on Beasleys actions, that was never the call. Sherman expected to take Beasley inside, while somebody playing safety (perhaps Dontae Johnson) was supposed to cross and take Davis to the outside. Its a coverage called Palms, and it was an unfortunate bust for Robert Salehs defense. Safety Tarvarius Moore was also in the deep third to that side, so yikes.

We were in Palms coverage, Sherman explained after the game. Two into the flat. I adjusted, but we had a few busts on the play. Its unfortunate. The motion put us in a look we hadnt seen before. Its just one of those plays just a miscommunication down the line, and you cant have those plays in games like this.

The look the 49ers hadnt seen before may have been Beasley going in motion from left to right, which could have confused the coverage rules. Shermans alert call should have taken the coverage to that side from zone to Palms.

For those who dont know, Palms coverage can also be called 2-Trap or 2-Read or Soft-2, based on which playbook its in. When I watched tape with Sherman in 2015, he explained how the Seahawks used Palms coverage against Dez Bryant and the Cowboys on this play in which Sherman was playing outside until Bryant took the quick screen behind the line of scrimmage. At that point, Sherman was supposed to crash down on Bryant, which he did, for a three-yard loss. It appeared as if there was a coverage void over Bryant in the slot with Sherman outside, but thats exactly how it was supposed to look.

Its like they call it Soft 2, Sherman told me back then. You have two receivers to your side. If 2 [the slot receiver] goes to the flat five yards or less, the cornerback takes him. If 2 goes vertical past five yards, the corner has man coverage on 1 [the outside receiver]. Since he went bubble [ran a bubble screen], thats five yards or less, and you shoot your gun. Im on 2 until he gets past this point, and then Im on 1. Which sounds easy until I still had to take a gamble on that play, because if I go underneath and I miss, [Bryants] got at least 2030 yards. Then, [safety] Earl [Thomas] will have to chase him downitd be a footrace between him and Dez. If I take that and [Bryant] blocks me, hes up the seam.

So, if Bryant had gone up the seam, the safety would have been responsible for him, and Sherman would have stayed on the outside receiver. The defining point is the slot vertical (if its there) after five yards. Holding the safety back might give a bust disguise look pre-snap. Of course, it helps if your safety is Earl Thomas in his prime.

As this X&O Labs article shows, the responsibility for the alert call into Palms could come from the playside safety in certain instances. We dont know exactly how the miscommunication started in this case, but we sure know how it ended with one of the easiest touchdowns Josh Allen will ever experience.

And if you really want to get into the weeds, heres our friend Cody Alexander on Palms. The 49ers might want to check it out.

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Anatomy of a Bust: How 49ers miscommunication led to an easy Bills touchdown - Touchdown Wire