The Chicago Bears continue to write new chapters to their remarkable season and now they host the powerful Los Angeles Rams in the divisional playoffs. The Bears and quarterback Caleb Williams delivered a remarkable fourth quarter in their 31-27 triumph over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. Williams led the Bears to 25 points in the final quarter and earned a memorable comeback victory.
The Bears have been manufacturing fourth-quarter comebacks throughout the year, earning regular-season wins against the Bengals, Giants, Vikings and Packers before their dramatics in the Wild Card game. It may not be the advisable way to play the game, but it has worked for Williams and head coach Ben Johnson.
The Rams registered their own comeback win over the Carolina Panthers in their Wild Card matchup. QB Matthew Stafford threw for 304 yards and threw 3 TD passes in the 34-31 victory. His game-winning TD pass to tight end Colby Parkinson came with 38 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter.
Winning a game against the Panthers (8-9) on the road is one thing; beating the Bears (11-6 in the regular season, 1-0 in the postseason) in Chicago on a 11-degree night is quite another. It will be a major challenge for the team from Southern California that plays indoors at SoFi Stadium to play their best game on the lakefront in Chicago.
Bears, Williams must start quickly and QB will throw for 3 TDs
The Wild Card game against the Packers was a disaster for the first 30 minutes. Chicago trailed by a 21-3 score at halftime and it looked like the Bears' offense was frozen solid.
Williams needs to get the Chicago offense going in the early going and at least keep the game close for the first half. Williams completed 24 of 48 passes for 361 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, and those numbers were good enough to help the Bears survive and advance.
He has a trio of wide receivers in D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III to make plays. He also has rookie tight end Colston Loveland to serve as both a red zone and 3rd-down weapon.
Williams hit Moore with a 25-yard TD pass in the final two minutes to give the Bears the late victory. Prior to that, he connected with Odunze on a 27-yard completion on a 4th-and-8 play that allowed them to retain possession and score a touchdown that brought them within 3 points. It was the kind of throw that only the most elite quarterbacks could make.
If running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monanagai can run the ball effectively, that will make life much easier for Williams. Swift ran for 1,087 yards and 9 TDs during the regular season while Monangai added 787 yards and 5 scores, and both are capable of accelerating through small cracks and making sizable gains.
Bears defense must limit Stafford to less than 225 yards
Head coach Ben Johnson does not toss flowers to his opponents very often. He did not have many compliments for the Packers or opposite number Matt LaFleur after any of the Bears' three games against the Packers. However, he did not hesitate for passing out a major bouquet when it came to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“I’ve got so much respect for that guy. You talk about the ultimate competitor,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the more talented throwers of the football I’ve ever been around. Matthew is outstanding. He’s a great teammate. His toughness. Physical toughness.”
Stafford had a brilliant regular season with 4,707 passing yards and a spectacular 46 to 8 touchdown to interception ratio. Wideout Puka Nacua is a dominant game changer as he finished the season with 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 TDs. Veteran Davante Adams, a Bears killer during his years with the Packers, caught 60-789-14.
The Bears are going to have to put that toughness to the test by putting significant pressure on him and delivering big hits whenever possible. That means defensive end Montez Sweat is going to have to come through with a big game. Sweat led the Bears with 10.0 sacks this season and he also had 13 tackles for loss, 5 passes batted down, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. He also had 53 tackles during the season and he added 3 more in the win over the Packers.
More than the numbers, Sweat has been hot in the second half of the season. He took criticism early in the year for his mediocre play — just 1.0 sack in the first 6 games — but he was effective after that.
If Sweat and the Bears defense can provide significant pressure on Stafford, the Bears have an excellent chance of advancing to the NFC Championship game against the winner of the San Francisco-Seattle divisional playoff game.
