Despite a chilling forecast and a history of struggles in cold weather, Matthew Stafford remains unfazed, ready to brave Soldier Field's icy embrace.
The Chicago Bears fully understand how much of a difference playing in an open-air stadium like Soldier Field can have.
The Bears will host the Rams on Sunday night at Soldier Field, with a high of 18 degrees and a low of two. It snowed in Chicago during the Wild Card matchup with the Bears and Green Bay Packers, but it's going to be even colder this weekend.
This could be good news for the Bears, as Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has had his fair share of problems in games with temperatures at 40 degrees or lower.
Stafford has a 1-9 record in those instances and has thrown 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
However, the veteran quarterback didn't seem too worried about the icy temps in Chicago at a recent press conference.
"Yeah, I mean, I think each game is kind of unique, right?" Stafford said. "You can't just bunch them all together. Played in Philly back in the day, there was six inches of snow on the ground. Played other games where it's just cold and dry, you know? I mean, you just got to go figure out what the elements are, how it's going to affect the ball, go play, you know. We had wind last week. What's that like? How's the ball moving when you throw it down the field? All those kinds of things. So, you just figure it out when you go."
There are also some injury concerns for Stafford heading into the game. He suffered a sprained index finger in the 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers and may not be at 100% for the game.
The weather and his injured finger may keep him from throwing the ball the way he wants.
Regardless, there are still plenty of things that young quarterback Caleb Williams can learn from Stafford. Head coach Ben Johnson highlighted Stafford's footwork and emphasis on fundamentals as two parts that stand out.
Williams has made great strides in year two, and part of that has to do with him being sacked less. The Bears allowed the most sacks (68) in 2024 and currently have the third-fewest (24) in 2025.
The quarterback threw for 3,942 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions in the regular season. He passed Erik Kramer's 1995 record for single-season passing yards (3,838).
Stafford and Williams meet in the Divisional Round on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC.