Chaos in Chicago: Winners and Losers From Rams–Bears

On paper, this was supposed to be simple. Powerhouse Rams offense versus the comeback kids from Chicago. Fireworks, points, and a fast track to the NFC title game.

Instead, we got one of those playoff games that slowly turns into a stress test. The Rams couldn’t shake the Bears. The Bears couldn’t quite finish drives. Nobody ever felt comfortable, nobody ever took control.

And somehow, through all the missed chances, head‑scratching decisions, and one of the wildest fourth‑down throws you’ll ever see, it turned into an overtime classic.

Because as messy as it was, there was no denying one thing: Chicago has something real. And the Rams had just enough to survive it. 

This Game Turned Into a Fever Dream

The first three quarters felt like two teams trying not to slip, not to panic, and not to be the one that handed the game away. It was cold, it was slow, and it was tense. Chicago moved the ball and controlled the clock. The Rams absorbed it, bent a lot, and kept waiting for the mistake.

There was one early — the interception at the Rams’ 1 — and from that point on, the game lived in that uncomfortable space where nobody was able to take control, and you could feel the pressure building throughout the night.

Then the fourth quarter finally gave us what we'd all been waiting for. Early in the frame, the Rams finally put together the kind of drive that usually closes playoff games: 91 yards, patient, physical, and finished — once again — by Kyren Williams.

A 17–10 lead. On the road. Snowing.

That’s the script. That’s where most teams fold. Chicago didn’t.

Fourth and Forever

The Bears got all the way down to the goal line, only to be stopped on four straight plays. Handing the ball back to the Rams with the same score. Give the Bears' defense a ton of credit; they did their job and forced a quick punt.

Now it's Bears' ball. Down seven. No timeouts. Season hanging by a thread.

4th-and-4 from the 14.

Caleb Williams tried to spin out left, drifted backward — so far backward that this ball leaves his hand at the 40-yard line — and let's it rip while fading away. For a second, the play looked dead on arrival.

Then you watched as the moon ball flew through the air, and Cole Kmet came into view with five yards of space around him, and he caught it for the game-tying score with 18 seconds left on the clock. Not a clean play. Not a designed masterpiece. A survival throw.

It was absurd. It was fearless. And it was the only reason this game didn’t end in regulation.

Overtime: One Misread, and It’s Over

In overtime, the Bears actually had a chance. They pushed the ball into Rams territory, and for a moment, it felt like the comeback might get finished.

Then, DJ Moore seemed confused on a deep route, hesitated just long enough to leave the window open, and Kam Curl jumped it. Interception. Ballgame.

No drama after that. The Rams got it into field goal range, lined up, kicked it, and earned their place in the NFC Championship Game.

The Playoffs Punish Mistakes

Here’s the part that makes this game so hard to wrap your head around if you’re Chicago: the Bears did a lot of things right. They outgained the Rams 417–340.

They held the ball for a ridiculous 39 minutes. They ran 75 plays in that time. They were on the field so much it felt like the Rams defense should’ve been asking for overtime pay.

But playoff football has this cruel way of ignoring everything except the mistakes.

The Rams won the turnover battle 3–0. And if you spot the other team — especially one with McVay calling it and Stafford throwing it to guys like Nacua and Adams — three extra possessions, you’re basically handing them a loaded gun and hoping they don’t pull the trigger.

Add in the blown fourth downs, and suddenly all that yardage and all that clock control doesn’t mean a thing. That’s the part that stings. Chicago didn’t get outplayed. They just gave the game away one mistake at a time.

Winners

Kyren Williams: The Rams’ Steady Hand

This game was the perfect example of why a dependable back matters even in an era where everyone wants to talk about quarterbacks.

Kyren Williams was the Rams’ stability. He finished with 21 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns, plus four catches for 30 yards. And those two touchdowns were the only times the Rams got into the paint.

That’s not a trivia stat. That’s the whole point. Because for most of the night, Matthew Stafford wasn’t playing like the guy who can erase your problems. The offense just didn’t have its usual flow.

So if you’re L.A., you don’t need your run game to be flashy. You need it to be consistent. You need it to keep you on schedule. You need it to turn drives into points instead of stress.

That’s what Kyren did. At 4.1 yards a carry, nearly every time they got a new set of downs, they turned and handed it to their workhorse. Over half of his carries (11 of the 21) came on first down. 

He ran with the kind of patience you have to run with in that weather — not trying to be a hero, not trying to bounce everything outside, just taking what was there and keeping the train on the tracks. And when the Rams needed to finish drives, he finished them.

The Rams Defense: One Play Away From a Clean Masterpiece

The Rams' defense spent most of the night doing exactly what they wanted to: bend, don't break.

Chicago had the ball for what felt like three days. They ran play after play, kept moving, kept forcing the Rams to tackle in the snow. And the Rams still held them to 10 points for basically the entire game — until the late miracle touchdown.

That matters.

Because it’s one thing to stop an offense that can’t move. It’s another to face an offense that can move, and consistently keep them out of the endzone.

This defense continued to come through in the biggest moments:

• They forced three interceptions.

• They got three 4th-down stops.

• They allowed just 1.5 yards per carry in the red zone. (Compared to Kyren Williams' 4.5 Y/C in the red area on the other side.)

That’s grown-up playoff defense.

And yeah, they gave up the tying touchdown late. But if you’re being honest, that play was less about the Rams' defense being "bad" and more about the magic of Caleb Williams.

Kam Curl: The Guy Was Everywhere… and Then Ended It

Some defensive performances aren’t loud until the final moment. Kam Curl’s was loud all night — and then it became unforgettable.

Curl finished with 13 tackles, two pass breakups, two run stuffs, a quarterback pressure, and the game-sealing interception. He was the kind of player you notice because every time the Bears tried to do something in the middle of the field, he was sitting right in the space they wanted.

That’s the thing about safeties like him: they don’t always “win” in a way the broadcast shows you. They win by taking away comfort. And he was everywhere in this one. Driving down through the line like a linebacker, perfectly filling a gap, and chasing down a run play from behind. Meeting DJ Moore at the sideline and turning what looked like a sure catch into him landing two yards out of bounds for an incompletion. 

Then overtime comes, the Bears push the ball, and Curl makes a great read. You can see him start to drive downhill, anticipating an out route coming before the ball has even been thrown. He jumps the deep shot, picks it off, and suddenly the Rams are lining up to walk it off.

It was a perfect snapshot of the Rams’ entire playoff identity in this one: no panic, no drama, just make the play and move on.

Caleb Williams: A Messy Night… and a Legendary Moment

This is the tricky one. Because if you want to be harsh, you can be harsh: Caleb Williams threw three interceptions in a playoff game.

That’s usually where the conversation ends. Quarterback turns it over three times in January, team loses, file it away as a bad night and move on. Except that’s not what this was.

Because if Caleb doesn’t play the way he played late, the Bears never even get close to overtime. This game is over quietly, and we’re probably talking about coaching decisions and missed chances instead of one of the wildest throws of the season.

His final line tells the whole story: 23-for-42 for 257 yards, two touchdowns, and three picks. Messy. Incomplete. Exactly what this game felt like.

But the reason he’s a winner here is simple — when the season was actually on the line, he made the biggest play of the year.

That late 4th-and-4 touchdown to Kmet is the kind of moment that sticks with a quarterback for a long time, for better or worse. It’s the throw people bring up when they’re trying to explain what they believe in. And nothing about it was easy.

The pocket was gone. He was drifting backward. The throw came off his hand from the 40. For a split second, it looked like one of those plays you regret the moment you release it. Then it dropped perfectly into space.

That was a quarterback refusing to let the season end without a fight. Keeping the play alive. Trusting his arm. Taking the risk anyway, even knowing that if it goes wrong, everyone’s talking about the three interceptions instead.

It didn’t win them the game, but it did something that might matter more long‑term: it showed exactly why the Bears believe in him. The mistakes are real. The learning curve is real. But so is the ceiling.

Losers

Colston Loveland: The Volume Was There, The Payoff Wasn’t

On paper, Loveland didn't have a horrible night. He finished as the Bears’ leading receiver and drew a ton of attention. But the part that matters is the efficiency. Loveland was targeted 10 times and caught four for 56 yards.

That’s not catastrophic, but it’s also not enough when you’re being treated like a featured option. Then you add the injury layer — he left with a concussion — and it becomes one of those “this game would’ve looked different if…” situations. Not that it's in his control at all, but availability is the best ability.

Chicago still found a way to push the game to overtime, but there’s no question they left production on the table in the middle of the field.

Matthew Stafford: A Win That Felt Like a Warning

This game was weird for Stafford. The Rams won, and they advanced, and in playoff football, that’s all that’s supposed to matter. But if you watched him for four quarters, it didn’t look like he felt comfortable for long stretches.

He finished 20-for-42 — under 48%  — for 258 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 67 passer rating. That’s not “disaster.” It’s also not Stafford.

He looked rushed at times. He looked anxious. He looked like he was pressing for answers in a game that didn’t give him many. Some of that is the weather. Some of that is the stadium. Some of that is the fact that Dennis Allen called a great game to counter what McVay and Stafford were trying to do.

But there’s also the reality that the Rams weren’t winning this game because of Stafford. They were winning it because the defense was winning big moments, and Kyren was finishing drives. Stafford’s job was to avoid the backbreaking mistake. And he did.

But this felt like one of those nights where the Rams nearly got sent home because their quarterback didn’t look like himself. And if you’re projecting forward, that’s the thing that sticks.

You may have snuck past the Bears' defense playing like this, but Seattle is a whole different beast.

All stats courtesy of NFL Pro.

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