The Los Angeles Rams visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday in the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs, and the weather could play a factor. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT, and according to weather.com,
it may be as low as 5°F, which would make this the coldest game at Soldier Field this season. Winds are expected to be 15 to 25 mph, with a wind chill that makes the temperature feel subzero. It’s also possible for some snow flurries early in the day.
Bears All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III revealed on Wednesday that head coach Ben Johnson has them ready for the weather.
“I think our bodies are very acclimated to it now,” he said. “I think Ben has been doing a good job of making us practice in this cold weather with no heat. No heaters on the field, which has been a complaint for the most part for a lot of guys. But I think in these scenarios, in this time of the year, you’re kind of looking back on it like, hey man, it actually might be good that we didn’t have any heaters because our bodies are going to be fully acclimated to this weather.”
The Rams have no intention of flying out early to acclimate to the cold, so they’ll have their normal Wednesday, Thursday, Friday practice schedule, and then fly to Chicago on Saturday.
In case you were wondering, the average temperature in L.A. this week is sunny with a high of 82°F.
While Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford began his career in the Midwest with the Detroit Lions (2009-2020), he played half of those games inside Ford Field. The Rams are also a dome team, and Stafford’s career record playing outside is 36-43 (.456).
In Stafford’s last ten games playing in the rain or snow, his teams have a 1-9 record, and he’s thrown 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In the Rams’ last ten games playing in Chicago, they are 2-8 with a -109 point differential.
“Obviously, we talked about the Cleveland game,” Byrad said about their December 15 game that had an 8°F temperature at kickoff. “All these other cold games we’ve been in, it’s going to be nothing for us to go out there and operate in the cold weather. Now, is that going to make a huge difference for the Rams? Who knows?”
