PLAINFIELD – The Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams played in a NFC divisional round game for the ages at Soldier Field on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026 in which the Rams would oust the Bears in a hard-fought battle 20-17 in overtime.
On one side, you have the Bears coming off their greatest playoff comeback in history against their rival Green Bay Packers 31-27, and feeling confident with the L.A. Rams coming in from the west coast to come and play in this below ten degree weather. On the flip side, you have the Los Angeles Rams, with MVP candidate and seasoned veteran Matthew Stafford quarterbacking the best offensive team in the league.
Although both these teams’ offenses are very high scoring, the opposite seemed true for the better part of three quarters. Both teams defenses were playing great, getting stop after stop and hoping their offense could go down the field and score. The game was 10-10 starting at halftime and it stayed that way all the way until 8:55 left in the fourth quarter when Rams running back Kyren Williams punched in his second touchdown of the game after a drive that lasted over six minutes for the Rams. The Rams would make the extra point and go up 17-10.
Another game comes down to the wire for cardiac Bears:
After the Rams go-ahead touchdown drive, Caleb Williams and the Bears would march down the field all the way to the 5-yard-line after a clutch catch by wide receiver Rome Odunze and a sloppy roughing the passer penalty by the Rams, the Bears were set up in prime position. But, the Bears would only go on to gain three in yards in four plays, and on fourth down a great pass break up by Rams linebacker Omar Speights put a hush over Soldier Field. The Rams would get the ball back with only 3:06 to kill. The Bears did have all three timeouts, but the Rams would get a first down after Chicago used their first timeout. With the two minute warning still in play and two timeouts, Chicago’s defense, which had been playing lights out all day, did everything they could to get their offense the ball back, and they did. After three good run stops after the first down, the Rams would punt the ball away as the first play after the two-minute warning. This is where the Windy City kicked in. The punt was significantly knocked down by the wind, and with 1:50 left, the Bears were in prime position at the Rams 50- yard-line to go and tie the game. After an up and down drive, the Bears season came down to a fourth-and-4 at the Rams 14-yard-line.
Play of the game:
With the season on the line, Caleb Williams pulled a rabbit out of his hat to find Cole Kmet (his only catch) for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Bears within an extra point from tying, or two-point conversion from winning the game. After getting pressured right away, Williams sprinted all the way back to the 40-yard line before throwing an absolute laser with three guys in his face, which was misjudged by Rams defensive back Cobie Durant and fell easily into the sure handed Cole Kmet.
Bears Head Coach Ben Johnson would not roll the dice and would instead let Cairo Santos attempt the game tying extra points, which he made to make it 17-17 and send it to overtime. The Bears would win the coin toss in overtime and let the Rams get the ball first. That decision seemed to pay off for Chicago as their defense forced the Rams offense off the field in three plays and would now only need a field goal to win. The Bears would slowly but surely move the ball into the Rams side of the field after a fourth down conversion by Williams.
Key player: Rams defensive back Kam Curl
Curl would quickly put a halt to Chicago’s drive by intercepting Williams on second-and-8 from the Rams 48-yard line. Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore and Williams miscommunicated on the play, and Curl took advantage. The Rams offense would use this get out of jail free card to full effect, as they would march down the field after a big catch by receiver Davante Adams and an even bigger 16-yard catch on third down by Puka Nacua.
Winning play:
After the 16-yard catch by Nacua, the Rams were well within field goal range, and even after a few good plays by the Chicago defense, the Rams trotted out Harrison Mevis who would make the game-winning 42-yard kick and send the Rams to Seattle to face the Seahawks in the NFC championship.
Williams, Bears get standing ovation:
When walking off the field for the final time this season, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears team as a whole got a standing ovation for their truly magical season. After staging six regular season comebacks and one in the playoffs against the Packers, this Bears team certainly brought football fever back to the city of Chicago.
For Ben Johnson in year one, he has a lot to hang his head on and should work on getting his team, which has a great future, ready for next season.
“Disappointing result, our guys are feeling it right now, they all believed all year long that we could find a way to win each and every week” said Johnson.
“It’s a good lesson learned for us, first time being in this situation for me and for us as a team and I’m excited for what’s to come” said Williams.
Rams move on to Seattle to face division rival Seahawks:
The Rams came to Chicago and gutted out a 20-17 win on an ice-cold night in Chicago. The Rams offense struggled to find their footing a bit, with Stafford struggling to get a grip on the ball because of the cold and his sprained right index finger on his throwing hand. But in the end, the Rams defense stepped up, intercepting Williams three times, and the offense taking advantage when it matters in overtime.
“What a great job by our group finding a way, thought our defense was outstanding, thought special teams made the plays that they had to make and offensively I did not do a very good job for a group today” said Rams Head Coach Sean McVay after his team’s thrilling 20-17 overtime victory in Chicago.
“I definitely didn’t get into a great rhythm today, there’s no question about that. Obviously I can be better, but playoff football is about winning the football game” said Stafford.
Another wild one in Chicago:
All in all it was another crazy game that involved the Chicago Bears, which seemed to become a trend this season, but in the end the L.A. Rams survived and knocked out the cardiac Bears.
