Can Chicago's defense contain Stafford and Nacua? Preview the Bears-Rams Divisional Round clash featuring surging offenses and a Bears' comeback story.
Here we go, the Chicago Bears are taking on the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.
The last of the NFC Wild Card games took place on Sunday afternoon, as the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers had a rematch of the 2022 NFC Championship Game.
Since the 49ers won 23-19, they will travel to Lumen Field to take on the No. 1-seeded Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in their Wild Card game to advance to the next round. The Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua connection continued, with the receiver ending his day with 111 receiving yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions.
Stafford was also excellent, throwing for 304 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
San Francisco and Seattle have already played twice this season, since they are both in the NFC West. They last met in Week 18 to decide who was going to take home the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Seahawks won 13-3 to take the No. 1 seed along with a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Chicago went through to the Divisional Round after beating the Green Bay Packers 31-27 on Saturday night. The Bears erased a 21-3 deficit to win 31-27 after holding the Packers to six points in the second half.
The Bears and Rams last played in 2024, with Chicago earning a 24-18 win at home.
Caleb Williams ended that game with 157 passing yards and one touchdown. The highlight of the game was the 32-yard touchdown run from D'Andre Swift in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
The Bears will now have the tough task of slowing down Stafford and Nacua, who have been on fire lately. A few weeks ago, Nacua finished with 225 receiving yards in a 38-37 loss to the Seahawks.
This could be a problem for the Bears' secondary, which has been inconsistent lately. In the Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions, Jaylon Johnson, Nahshon Wright and C.J. Gardner-Johnson had subpar PFF grades.
Johnson and Wright were in the 50s, while Gardner-Johnson ended his day with a 28.2.
Chicago got some clarity on what day its game will be, but not the time. NFL Analyst Adam Hoge shared that the game will be on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC.
Chicago will be hosting once again as the higher seed. The Bears are just two more wins away from reaching the Super Bowl.