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The Los Angeles Rams travel to Soldier Field on Sunday night to face the Chicago Bears in a Divisional Round matchup that checks every box: star quarterbacks, elite play callers, recent playoff drama, and conditions that promise to turn the game into something raw and unforgiving. The winner moves on to the NFC Championship Game to face either the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers. The loser walks away knowing just how thin the margin truly is in January.
This will be McVay’s 15th career playoff game against his 15th different opponent — a testament to his consistency and adaptability — but the setting is a new one. Soldier Field in prime time, in subfreezing temperatures, against a Bears team that has spent the last two months rewriting its own narrative. The Rams arrive battle-tested, having escaped Carolina with a last-minute touchdown drive. The Bears arrive galvanized, fresh off a comeback that will live in Chicago lore.
Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn ImagesChicago’s Wild Card win over Green Bay was the kind of game that reshapes belief. Down 18 in the second half, the Bears looked dead in the water before Caleb Williams flipped the script. Williams finished with 361 passing yards and capped the rally with a 25-yard game-winning touchdown to DJ Moore with less than two minutes remaining — a moment that finally felt like an exorcism against a rival that has defined decades of frustration.
“He’s going to be a nightmare to defend,” McVay said this week of Williams, acknowledging the challenge ahead.
The comeback wasn’t just about Williams, though. Chicago’s defense, shredded early, found its footing after halftime, holding the Packers to six rushing yards and six points over the final two quarters. The Bears scored 25 points in the fourth quarter alone — their seventh comeback win of the season — reinforcing a theme that has followed them all year: they don’t panic, and they don’t quit.
The Rams are built for that kind of fight. Matthew Stafford, like Williams, was a No. 1 overall pick, and his résumé as a closer is among the best of his era. Stafford now owns 42 fourth-quarter comebacks and 54 game-winning drives across his 17-year career, adding another last weekend when he hit Colby Parkinson for a perfectly placed 19-yard touchdown with 38 seconds left to stun Carolina. If this game comes down to nerve and execution late, neither quarterback will blink.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThen there’s the chess match on the sidelines. McVay versus Ben Johnson is as compelling as any coaching duel left in the postseason — two of the league’s premier offensive architects, each capable of dictating terms, exploiting tendencies, and forcing defenses into uncomfortable choices. One has the résumé. The other has the momentum of a first season that’s already exceeded expectations.
And finally, there’s the environment. Sunday night forecasts call for a high around 14 degrees, gusting west winds between 10 and 20 mph, and the threat of snow. Cold hands. Heavy air. A surface that punishes hesitation. It’s the kind of night where precision matters more, toughness shows faster, and mistakes echo louder.
This isn’t just a Divisional Round game. It’s a collision of belief and experience, of momentum and muscle memory. The Bears have spent all season proving they belong. The Rams have spent years proving they can survive moments like this. Sunday night will decide which one carries that truth one step closer to the Super Bowl.
Game Info
Chicago Bears (2025: 11-6) vs Los Angeles Rams (2025: 12-5)
TV: NBC (Mike Tirico, Chris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark)Streaming: NFL+Radio: ESPN 1000 AM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie); LATINO MIX 93.5 FM (Omar Ramos)
Kickoff Time: 5:30 PM CTSite: Soldier Field, Chicago, ILReferee: Shawn HochuliOdds: Rams -3.5, O/U 48.5 (via BetMGM)
Bears Projected Starters
David Banks-Imagn ImagesOffense
QB – Caleb Williams RB – D’Andre Swift WR – Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Luther Burden III TE – Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland OL – Theo Benedet, Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Darnell WrightDefense
DL – Montez Sweat, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter Sr., Austin Booker LB – Tremaine Edmunds, D’Marco Jackson CB – Jaylon Johnson, Nahshon Wright, Kyler Gordon S – Kevin Byard III, Jaquan BriskerSpecialists
Cairo Santos (kicker), Tory Taylor (punter, holder), Scott Daly (long snapper), Devin Duvernay (kick and punt returner)Rams Projected Starters
Offense
QB – Matthew Stafford RB – Kyren Williams WR – Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Konata Mumpfield TE – Colby Parkinson OL – Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kelvin Dotson, Warren McClendon Jr.Defense
DL – Braden Fiske, Poona Ford, Kobie Turner LB – Byron Young, Nate Landman, Omar Speights, Jared Verse CB – Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, Quentin Lake S – Kamren Kinchens, Kam CurlSpecialists
Harrison Mevis (kicker), Ethan Evans (punter, holder), Jake McQuade (long snapper), Jordan Whittington, Xavier Smith (kick and punt returner) Bob Donnan-Imagn ImagesThree Bears
Every week, our Chicago Bears writers will give you their Bears player to watch in the matchup ahead. Three Bears is a staple of these previews, and with Bears coverage expanding this season, I thought it would be cool to involve all of the Bears thinkers in the exercise.
Patrick Flowers: Caleb Williams — While there were many heroes in Saturday’s Wild Card victory over the Packers, we’re not sitting here today preparing for another playoff game without the performance of Caleb Williams. There’s no doubt he will need a similar showing this week with a high-powered offense and the likely league MVP coming into town.
Luis Medina: Montez Sweat — In the Week 4 meeting between the Bears and Rams in 2024, Sweat was all over the stat sheet with 1 sack, 2 solo tackles, 1 tackle-for-loss, 1 quarterback hit, 1 pass defended, and 1 forced fumble. Chicago’s defense will need a similar effort (and then some) to slow down a high-powered Rams offensive attack on Sunday.
Matt Rooney: Grady Jarrett — While he started slow thanks to some injury issues, Jarrett has come on and been a stabilizing veteran presence for the Bears on the interior of the defensive line. Matthew Stafford was bad when pressured last weekend. I don’t care who the QB is; if they face pressure up the middle, they’re going to struggle. If the Bears want to win Sunday, they’ll have to own the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. I’m looking for the Bears veteran leader up front to step up and be a disruptor against a Rams team that can beat you on the ground and through the air.
BN Bears Podcast: Bears vs Rams Preview
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