CHICAGO— For a moment, it seemed like the Chicago Bears were about to pull off the unimaginable again.
As quarterback Caleb Williams fled from a horde of pass rushers, shuffling his feet nearly 30 yards away from the line of scrimmage, his heave somehow found a wide-open Cole Kmet in the end zone. A 14-yard touchdown throw that traveled over 50 yards in the air tied the game and sent it to overtime with seemingly every bit of momentum in the home team’s favor.
But the Los Angeles Rams found a way to dig in and pull off a remarkable 20-17 victory at Soldier Field on a night that swirling flurries impacted a contest that took every possible twist and turn.
"These guys just kept battling,” said coach Sean McVay. “They kept believing, and that's what it's about. There (are) no style points. It's about being able to survive in advance."
As MVP contender Matthew Stafford appeared average with 258 yards, 20-for-42 passing and zero touchdowns while being sacked four times, the Rams’ resilient defensive effort provided enough to overcome Williams' heroic moment.
After the Rams’ offense failed to score to open overtime, the Bears quickly drove into their territory. But safety Kam Curl made a diving interception as Williams underthrew his target to set up the visitors’ game-winning drive.
The Rams, which had given up 27-plus points in their previous five games, were able to resurrect form with three takeaways to hold the Bears to 17 points. It was led by Curl's 13 tackles and Cobie Durant's two interceptions.
“It felt good getting back to us,” Curl said. “ We know what type of guys we got on this defense — that's our standard.”
Robin Alam - The Sporting Tribune
McVay praised his team for its resolve despite his “bad coaching.” In snowy, frigid conditions that McVay said affected the passing game, the Rams threw the ball 42 times, completing fewer than half of their attempts. They even had to grind out their two touchdown drives with 14 plays, with Kyren Williams capping both off.
Kicker Harrison Mevis, who joined the Rams midseason, provided the winning field goal from 42 yards. By the time he stepped up to take the kick, the early game flurries had slowed down.
“It was like the football gods (were) smiling on us,” McVay said. “The weather had calmed down. There wasn’t a lot of wind right there.”
Robin Alam - The Sporting Tribune
The Rams made just enough plays at the right times to pull off the victory.
On the Bears' first drive of the game, Durant picked off Williams's overthrown pass to prevent points on a drive that was headed for at least three points.
With 4:26 remaining in the second quarter, with the contest tied seven apiece, Curl filled the gap as running back Kyle Monangai attempted to convert a fourth-and-one up the right side in Rams territory.
Drawn 10 each in the fourth quarter, defensive lineman Jared Verse flattened running back Kyle Monangai on a combined tackle for loss with linebacker Nate Landman on a 3rd-and-1 to get the ball back.
It didn't always pay off immediately, but it kept a cold offense in play for when it mattered most.
"It's a game ball-worthy performance for the whole (defensive) group, and that's why we're advancing to the NFC Championship," McVay said.
The Rams secured a trip to Seattle to face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship, a foe that came back from 30-14 down to steal the No. 1 seed from them. They have a chance to avenge that defeat with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
“Once those guys won, I was hoping that we'd get a chance to be able to go back,” McVay said of the Seahawks.
