LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Rams were able to advance to the Divisional Round after a thrilling 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ passing attack started off great with a 14-0 lead and getting Puca Nacua two early scores (one receiving touchdown and one backwards pass categorized as a rushing touchdown). However, later in the first half, Stafford injured his finger, which did affect him at least a bit for the rest of the game.
He ended 24/42 for 295 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and was sacked once. The top receiver was Nacua, who hauled in 10 passes for 111 yards and two scores, and was unstoppable. He did have a crucial drop late in the first half, which cost the Rams some points.
Davanate Adams returned and was able to contribute five receptions for 72 yards, and these were very timely catches. Kyren Williams and Colby Parkinson both had great contributions as well. Parkinson won his matchup late and hauled in the game-winning score with under 40 seconds remaining.
After a failed fourth-down attempt late in the second quarter, the LA offense struggled to create a rhythm for a lot of the third quarter, which led to Carolina and Los Angeles trading the lead. However, Stafford showcased his MVP play and was able to rip the hearts out of the Carolina fans, and elevated his team to another close win with a clutch game-winning drive.
The Rams' run game was average on Sunday afternoon, but with the game becoming more of a shootout, it felt like LA was getting away from it a little too early.
In total, Los Angeles ran for 116 yards on 29 carries and an average of 4.0 yards per rush. Kyren Williams had 13 carries for 57 yards, and Blake Corum added 11 carries for 45 yards. LA, if they want to keep advancing, must stay consistent with the run game to take some of the load off Stafford and create big seams in the play-action game.
LA showcased once again why they are the best offense in the NFL and why they can beat anyone. They did have another special teams blunder with a blocked punt in the fourth quarter. They do need to clean that area up, which has cost a few teams already this postseason.
Defensively, the Rams had a great start to the game, picking off Bryce Young and forcing a turnover on downs early. However, after a 14-0 lead, they struggled, especially in the pass game against the bigger and more physical outside receivers for the Panthers.
For the game, Young went 21/40 passing for 264 yards, one touchdown, threw one interception, and was sacked twice. In his postseason debut, he showed the resilience to be able to bounce back against a very experienced team and stand in there under tremendous pressure.
The top receivers for Carolina were Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker, who gave LA issues all afternoon. Coker led the team with nine receptions for 134 yards and the lone receiving touchdown. McMillan hauled in five passes for 81 yards and made an impact, especially on run-pass options. If Los Angeles does not figure out different coverages to offset these issues, they could be in some trouble the deeper they get in the postseason.
The rush defense was elite on Saturday. They held the Panthers to 22 carries for 83 yards and a 3.8-yard average, which made it very difficult. Chuba Hubbard totaled 13 carries for 46 yards, and Young had three carries for 24 yards. Carolina did punch in three rushes for scores, two from Hubbard, and Young was able to run one in on a scramble right before half.
On traditional runs, the Rams did a great job, but they do need to figure out an answer for mobile quarterbacks and keeping them in the pocket.
Overall, LA did enough to get the win, but against the better teams in the postseason, they will need to be more stout in the red zone on the ground, contain mobile quarterbacks, and solve their coverage issues on the backend.
The main takeaway defensively in this game was that their defensive line was able to generate quite a bit of pressure, which closed the game on the last drive.
LA’s next opponent will be the Chicago Bears, who present a variety of challenges, especially with Los Angeles having to go on the road.
The Bears continued their season of last-second comebacks and were able to defeat the Green Bay Packers 31-27 in the Wild Card Round.
Caleb Williams and the offense struggled in the first three quarters to really get going, as he threw two interceptions and they turned it over on downs four times. However, Williams came in clutch at the end with a game-winning touchdown to DJ Moore for the second time this season against the Packers.
For the whole game, Williams went 24/48 for 352 yards, two scores, the two interceptions, and was sacked once. The x-factor for Chicago was tight end Colston Loveland, who went off for eight catches for 137 yards and was a matchup nightmare all night long.
Moore also added six receptions for 64 yards and the game-winning touchdown. The Bears this season always get the job done when they need to, and the play of the game was a fourth and eight where Williams made a crazy throw to keep the game alive to Rome Odunze.
The Chicago rushing attack, which has been potent this season, struggled to get going on Saturday. It totaled 28 carries for 93 yards on 3.3 yards per carry and one score. If they want to really keep the offense moving, getting the ground game going to set up play action will be critical.
On the other side, their defense struggled early, allowing Jordan Love to do pretty much everything he wanted in the first half with three passing touchdowns. However, in the second half, they made a lot of adjustments and held the Packers to six points in the second half.
Love ended with 322 yards on 24/46, four touchdowns, and was sacked once. The playcalling for Green Bay got conservative, and the Bears did a great job heating up Love and shutting down the run game, creating tough passing situations.
The Bears did struggle against Romeo Doubs and Matthew Golden in man coverage. Doubs had eight receptions for 124 yards and a score, in addition to Golden hauling in four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
All night long, Chicago tried to run man coverage, but the Green Bay receivers burned them. It will be interesting to see how much man coverage the Bears run in the Divisional Round against LA.
The Chicago run defense did an excellent job holding the Packers to 99 total rushing yards on 23 attempts for a 4.3-yard average. Josh Jacobs was held to 19 rushes for 55 yards and just a 2.9-yard average per carry. In the red zone, the defense really stiffened up and forced Green Bay into passes.
The Rams versus the Bears promises to be an amazing divisional game with both teams having something to prove and aiming to reach the NFC Championship Game.
Outside of the pure matchups in the game, the weather may be a huge factor, with the temperature expected to be around 0 degrees, and with a team from Southern California coming in, this could be a key advantage for Chicago.
Some good injury news for the Rams and their offense is that both guard Kevin Dotson and tight end Terrance Ferguson are expected to make their returns, which could be huge for this game and the rest of the playoffs. They both seem they be trending toward playing, so that will be something to watch during the week.
A major matchup in this game is LA’s skill position players versus the Chicago secondary. The Bears play the eighth most man coverage at a clip of 29.1% which could be trouble against Nacua, Adams, Parkinson, Williams, and several other Los Angeles weapons.
As far as the safety looks, they run, they are fairly balanced running one high at a 49.0% rate (18th) and two high looks at a 46.1% rate (16th). Clearly, Chicago does like man, but is willing to mix things up in order to generate turnovers as well as just get stops when they need them.
The second half of last week showed that Dennis Allen is not afraid to make massive adjustments in order to generate stops, so these coverages will not be stagnant. You can count on that.
It remains to be seen how McVay will attack if he spots them in man coverage, which could be deadly for the Bears if exploited.
The game really could come down to turnovers, which is an area Chicago excels as one of the best teams in the league in turnover margin.
The Bears are the best team at forcing turnovers, getting 1.8 per game, which has allowed them to, at times, cover some defensive flaws in coverage with timely mistakes by their opponents. The Rams are the eighth-best team at protecting the ball, averaging 0.9 giveaways per game. On the road, it is key to play clean, and Los Angeles understands that.
Last week, LA had two turnovers (one Stafford interception and one blocked punt), which almost cost them their season. So this week, there will be a special emphasis on protecting the ball and sustaining drives to put all the pressure on a struggling Chicago defense in the pass game, especially.
Going against a very good offense, the Bears will want to keep Los Angeles off the field, and a great way to do that is to establish the rushing attack.
The Bears are the third-best running team in the NFL, averaging 141.3 rushing yards per game, which does a lot to set up the rest of their offense. The Rams do a good job of stopping the run, ranking 11th in the league, allowing 109.3 rush yards per contest. The line of scrimmage will do a lot to decide this game, and whoever wins this matchup up front will go a long way in deciding this game.
In both the run game and the pass game, the home team will have a tall task against a Rams' front that includes Braden Fiske, Byron Young, Jared Verse, Poona Ford, and Kobie Turner, as well as linebackers behind them that do their job well, like Nate Landman.
However, the offensive line has improved from last season. They will be without starting left tackle Ozzy Tarpilo, who was injured in the fourth quarter against Green Bay, but Theo Benedet stepped in and did what was asked to get the win.
However, Benedet is the weak link with an overall grade of 57.1 from PFF, which lists him as the 73rd tackle. LA will definitely look to attack him on obvious passing downs. Next to him is Joe Thuney, who has won everywhere he has been and is the fifth-best guard with an overall grade of 79.4. In the middle of the line is Drew Dallman, who ranks sixth with a grade of 77.5, really keeping the line together, making calls, and helping their young quarterback, Williams, out.
On the right side of their line is Jonah Jackson, who has also been a solid pickup, grading at a 71.4, which makes him the 19th-best guard in the league. On his outside shoulder at right tackle is third-year player Darnell Wright, who has massively improved. He grades at 81.9, ranking as the 13th tackle. These grades show across the board that the Bears have a solid offensive line, but left tackle this weak could be a weak point with the loss of Trapillo.
With LA's tremendous front, Chicago must hold up so their playmakers can get into the secondary of Los Angeles, which has shown vulnerability the last few weeks. The playoffs ultimately come down to protecting your quarterback and exploiting the opposing team's weakness, so we will see if the Bears can do both of those.
On the other side, the ability to put pressure on Stafford for the Bears is just as important. When Carolina blitzed and got pressure, they were able to affect Stafford a little bit, but eventually, he will pick up on that and expose the weaker coverage.
Chicago will need to get pressure on Stafford with their front, which is something they have really struggled to do. On the season, the Bears are 29th in pressure generated with a rate of 31.5%. The Rams do a great job protecting Stafford, allowing pressure fourth least at a 32.2% clip.
This starts with Montez Sweat and Austin Booker, against the Rams' tackles Alaric Jackson and Warren McClendon Jr., who have done a great job this season. Jackson is the 11th-best tackle according to PFF with an 82.9 overall grade. McClendon also has a great overall grade ranking eighth with an 83.5.
Additionally, Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter will be looking to win matchups against the interior Los Angeles offensive line, which includes Steve Avila (76.8 overall grade; ninth among guards), Coleman Shelton (70.1 grade; 13th among centers), and the hopeful return of one of the best guards, Dotson (86.4 overall grade ranking third among guards).
With a great offensive line, the goal is also to be able to rush the football, and on the road in adverse conditions, it can help steady an offense.
During the course of the year, Chicago has struggled to stop the run, allowing 132.6 rush yards per game, which ranks 27th. The Rams, at times, have been able to really run the ball effectively and will emphasize it in this situation to keep Ben Johnson's offense off the field. LA has averaged 126.0 rushing yards per game, which puts them at seventh, and with McVay's ability to mix in 13 personnel and other groupings, this will help LA to take advantage of a lackluster rush defense for the Bears.
The trenches, no doubt, will play a huge part in this game, especially with the weather expected to be what it is. LA clearly has an elite offensive line, so Chicago's front will need to have a great performance and creative pass rush moves in order to generate pressure.
They also must stop the run to make the play-action game harder to get to for McVay. This is even more necessary if they still want to play man coverage.
With all of these matchups in mind, my pick is for the Rams to advance to the NFC Championship Game. To me, it seems their experience, having the better quarterback, the better coach, the more explosive weapons, and the more consistent offensive line, will be enough to get the win. I have LA advancing 27-19.
