In freezing temperatures and snowy weather, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17 in overtime, negating a last-second touchdown from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams to punch their ticket to the NFC Championship Game.
The Bears came out aggressively. After stepping foot in Rams territory, head coach Ben Johnson, who is known for his aggressive playcalling, went for it on fourth-and-2 and Caleb threw an interception into the hands of Rams’ cornerback Cobie Durant to take away an opportunity from the Bears.
Los Angeles cashed in on Chicago’s antsiness, marching downfield and scoring on the first drive after running back Kyren Williams scored a touchdown to give the Rams an early lead. Kyren ended the game with 117 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Chicago’s previous failed fourth-down conversion didn’t deter them from taking risks. In the middle of the second quarter, the Bears had the ball near the goal line and went for it on fourth-and-3, and Caleb found wide receiver DJ Moore for a touchdown to tie the game 7-7. Moore led the Bears with five receptions for 60 yards.
The weather was a massive factor in the offensive efficiency. Bears wide receiver Rome Odzune dropped multiple balls, and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was 12-for-24 in the first half, which is abnormal for him. Both offenses were silent for the rest of the first half, but the Bears were able to break the tie late in the second quarter when kicker Cairo Santos made a 48-yard field goal.
With about a minute before halftime, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford broke through and found tight end Tyler Higbee for a big gain to set the Rams in field goal position. Kicker Harrison Mevis sailed a 32-yard field goal attempt straight through the uprights to tie the game at half, 10-10.
The defensive game continued in the second half. Durant picked off Caleb for the second time in the third quarter, giving the Rams the ball at midfield. However, the Rams couldn’t take advantage of the chance, going 3-and-out.
The Bears secondary was phenomenal, led by Jaquan Brisker who held first-team All-Pro wide receiver Puka Nacua to only five receptions and 62 yards and came up with a sack and two pass deflections.
In the fourth quarter, the Rams finally started to move downfield. Tight end Colby Parkinson made a pivotal 35-yard catch that set the Rams up in Bears territory. Los Angeles got the ball to the 7-yard line and on a fourth-and-1, head coach Sean McVay drew up a jet sweep for Nacua, and he pushed forward for the first down.
On the very next play, Kyren found paydirt for the second time, running along the right edge to make it 17-10.
Chicago then led an efficient 10-play drive that set up another fourth-down conversion attempt on the Rams’ 2-yard line. Linebacker Omar Speights read the pass attempt from Caleb and swatted it down to force a turnover on downs, but the Bears’ defense was able to stop the Rams to give Chicago one more opportunity to tie the game.
The Bears were 14 yards away from the goal line, and on fourth-and-4 with 30 seconds to go, Chicago needed a miracle. Caleb took the snap and immediately faced pressure from three Rams defenders. He ran back and launched a 51.2-air-yard ball that landed right into the hands of tight end Cole Kmet to tie the game and force overtime.
Soldier Field went berserk, and after the Rams went three-and-out on their first overtime possession, it seemed like any chance the Rams had of winning was dwindling to nothing. However, when Chicago was just yards away from field goal position, Caleb made another mistake and threw his third interception of the game to safety Kam Curl. Stafford then got the Rams into field goal range, and Mevis drilled a 42-yard field goal to stun Chicago, winning the game 20-17.
The Rams will play in the NFC Championship Game against the Seahawks in Seattle on Jan. 25 at 3:30 pm.