Bundle up, it’s about to get really cold.
The fanbase will be anything but as they are hyped up to watch the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The city has been buzzing ever since the team overcame an 18-point deficit to eliminate their rivals and advance in the playoffs.
This week will be no easy task, though.
The Los Angeles Rams are a very good football team. They came up short from winning their division, but they have the MVP favorite in Matthew Stafford, one of the most productive
and best receivers in the league with Puka Nakua and one of the best offensive head coaches in the league in Sean McVay.
The Rams spent most of the season getting deserved Super Bowl contender love from around the NFL orbit.
Is this even a Chicago Bears game, though? Some in the media make it seem like it’s the weather vs. Los Angeles.
Nah, there’s a football team in this city that wants to kick your ass in any elements.
Los Angeles Rams
SB Nation site: Turf Show Times
Record: 13-5
Last week: 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers
Game day, time, TV: Sunday, 5:30 p.m. CT, NBC
Spread: Rams -3.5
Bears all-time record against: 55-39-3, including 1-1 in the postseason
Historical meetings: The last time these teams met in the playoffs was the 1985 NFC Championship game.
On their way to New Orleans, the Bears first had to take care of Los Angeles.
They jumped out to a 10-0 lead with Jim McMahon rushing for a 16-yard touchdown and a Kevin Butler field goal.
A 22-yard catch by Willie Gault from McMahon put them ahead 17-0 and Wilber Marshall returned a Dieter Brock fumble 52 yards as the snow began falling in one of the most iconic plays in Bears history.
Chicago won 24-0 and moved on to the Super Bowl.
Last meeting: Week 4 of 2024. The 1-2 Bears hosted the 1-2 Rams.
The Rams opened with two field goals. In the second quarter, Roshon Johnson scored from one yard out and Cairo Santos added a field goal late in the first half to put the Bears up 10-6 at halftime.
After the Rams added another field goal, Caleb Williams hit DJ Moore for a 9-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The Rams finally found the endzone on a Kyren Williams three-yard score on the first play of the fourth. But they went for two to make it a seven-point game but didn’t convert.
D’Andre Swift took the ball 36 yards for another score on the next drive.
The Rams added another field goal. Then, the two teams traded punts and finally, with 1:03 left in the game, Jaquon Brisker intercepted Matt Stafford and the Bears won 24-18.
Injury report: A short Wednesday injury report for LA with just three players listed as limited or not participating.
Limited
- OL Kevin Dotson (ankle)
- NT Poona Ford (elbow)
Did not participate
- DB Darious Williams (NIR – personal)
Offense: The Rams finished the regular season with the No. 1 offense in both yards and points.
Their passing game ranks first and their rushing offense ranks seventh.
Matthew Stafford (65.0 cmp pct./4,707 yds./46 TD/8 INT) needs no introduction. He’s likely going to win his first NFL MVP in a couple of weeks. He led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
His weapons start with Puka Nakua (129 rec./1,715 yds./10 TD), who led the league in receptions and was close to leading in receiving yards most of the year. Then they have the elder statesman in Davante Adams (60/789/14), who led the league in touchdown catches.
And they might have the most productive three-tight-end platoon in the league with Colby Parkinson (43/408/8), Tyler Higbee (25/281/3) and Davis Allen (24/208/3).
Kyren Williams (259 att./1,252 yds./10 TDs) is their leading rusher but is also fourth on the team in receptions (36/281/3). Blake Corum (145/746/6) is the RB2 and a productive one at that.
Defense: The Rams defense finished ranked 10th in points and 17th in yards allowed.
Their passing defense ranked 19th and their rushing offense ranked 12th in the regular season.
Up front, they’re led by Byron Young (12 sk/12 TFL/29 QB hits/1 FF) and Jared Verse (7.5 sk/11 TFL/27 QB hits/3 FF/1 PD).
LB Nathan Landman (132 tkl/2.5 sk/8 TFL/4 FF/6 PD/1 INT/8 TFL/5 QB hits) and S Kamren Curl (122 tkl/2 sk/2 INT/5 PD/1 FF/2 TFL/2 QB hits) are making splash plays all over the place.
The secondary is led by Emmanuel Forbes (45 tkl/3 INT/18 PD) and S Quentin Lake (61 tkl/1 sk/10 PD/1 INT/2 TFL/2 QB hits). Cobie Durant (40 tkl/3 INT/7 PD/1 TFL) and Darious Williams (25 tkl/1 INT/8 PD/1 TFL) also make plays.
Key matchups: It starts with slowing down the Rams’ passing game, but that might be easier said than done. Puka Nakua can always get open. The Bears have to get pressure with four because Stafford can kill them against a blitz with Nakua and Adams, plus their TE trio.
On offense, the Bears are going to have to lean into their ground game and bleed the clock to keep Stafford and Co. on the sideline. Caleb Williams will need his Superman cape handy, once again. The offense line is going to have get push with Theo Benedet and/or Braxton Jones at LT against Verse and Young. Pretty scary.
Key stats:
- The Rams with Sean McVay are 2-2 in games below 32 degrees. They average 15 points per game. That record includes the famous 15-6 game in Chicago in 2018. They won games by scoring 19 points and 23 points.
- Stafford is 3-3 in games with a temperature below freezing, but his stats are impressive. He’s passed for 1,519 yards, 15 TDs and 3 interceptions.
- This will be the coldest game for the Rams under McVay.
- In the first eight games of the season, the Rams allowed 15.9 points per game. In their last nine games, it was 24.3 points per game. In their last four games, they’ve allowed 29 points per game.
- The Rams rank fifth in defensive takeaways
- Ben Johnson is the first Bears coach to start 1-0 in the playoffs since Dave Wannstedt
- Teams coming off the five largest comebacks in postseason history are 1-4 in the next game (Source: Patrick Finley on X The Everything App)
What will it take for the Bears to upset the Rams on Sunday? Can the Bears put a complete game together and slow down Matthew Stafford and Puka Nakua?
