Soldier Field (Chicago) – It came down to overtime in Chicago, because that’s the only way the Bears know how to do it. A nailbiter. Theatrical. And to the Los Angeles Rams’ credit, their first playoff game came down to a fourth-quarter go-ahead score, too.
Ultimately, it came down to Matthew Stafford and the Rams, who are headed to Seattle to face the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
Here are my takeaways:
1. In icy cold conditions in Chicago, Stafford stole away Caleb Williams’ ‘Iceman’ nickname
There was no shortage of momentum swings, but when Williams handed over an interception in overtime, it was impossible to see Stafford giving Ben Johnson and Williams another shot. The Rams learned the hard way what that could look like when the Bears tied the game in the fourth quarter to send it into overtime.
No, Stafford and Sean McVay took control of the game, with a surgical and patient drive to the tune of 10 plays, nearly 7 minutes and 54 yards. It concluded with a game-winning field goal by Harrison Mevis.
And even before that kick, Stafford clearly didn’t want to leave it up to his kicker, firing the ball downfield toward the end zone and into tight windows. Alas, they couldn’t convert those contested throws. Their kicker got the job done.
2. You’ve gotta see these throws from Williams
Williams was the Bears greatest asset and their biggest nightmare. He had three interceptions, after all — including the most costly play of the game.
Throw 1: I don’t know how Williams did it. I don’t know how he escaped the rush. I don’t know how he got the ball that far downfield. (I genuinely don’t know of Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes could’ve made this throw.) I don’t know how Rams cornerback Cobie Durant got so out of position.
And because of the sheer impossibility, I don’t know how Cole Kmet held onto the ball — just because the catch was mind-blowingly easy, considering the difficulty everywhere else on the play.
But with the game on the line and on fourth down, Williams heaved the ball for the end zone. And somehow, Kmet was on the other end.
I just don’t know, folks.
How?
Throw 2: In a way, Williams was built for fourth down. He’s such a creative player in crunch time and when he has to throw the ball, he’s not afraid to try a throw that basically no one else would try.
Why not, right? It’s fourth down. It’s the rare down where incompletions and interceptions are often interchangeable. So, Williams’ aggressive style and his incredible arm strength are, like I said, built for fourth down.
This throw might not match up to his fourth-quarter, fourth-down throw that ranks as, perhaps, the most impressive throw in Bears history. But it’s up there.
On fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Williams zipped it away from the hands of linebacker Omar Speights and into a spot where safety Quentin Lake couldn’t close the gap on the separation.
In short, touchdown D.J. Moore.
3. Davante Adams’ catch complicates the weekend-long conversation
On the NBC broadcast, rules analyst Terry McAuley said it was “clearly a catch.”
But I’m sorry to say that nothing is “clearly a catch” anymore. Not after what we saw in the Broncos’ overtime win over the Bills, which featured an interception where Ja’Quan McMillian stole the ball out of the arms of Cooks, who was on the ground but, with respect to his catch, had technically not survived the ground.
Yes, I’m revisiting that play. Because everyone else will.
Here’s a look at Adams’ crucial catch, which helped the Rams set up a fourth-quarter touchdown run from Kyren Williams.
FOX Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino weighed in.
“On that one, Adams was upright and completed the catch before he went to the ground, so as soon as the knee touches, he’s down by contact,” Blandino said via text message.
4. The Rams’ first half looked suspiciously like the typical Bears’ first half
At halftime, Davante Adams had zero catches on two targets. And Puka Nacua had three catches on six targets for just 27 yards. Even Matthew Stafford completed just 50% of his passes (12 of 24) for 144 yards.
The Rams’ playmakers weren’t exactly off to a screaming hot start. And that might’ve been due to the cold. Or, more specifically, it might’ve been the snowy field, with the Rams receivers struggling in the poor footing on a snowy Soldier Field.
At one point, Stafford did his typical screw-it-Puka’s-down-there-somewhere throw, where the QB simply chucks the ball in his WR1’s direction in hopes that he’ll make a play. Nacua could not, getting out of position and nearly allowing an interception from Bears safety Jaquan Brisker.
It was the kind of slow start that we had come to expect from Chicago. And yet the Bears enjoyed a relatively efficient start, with Williams completing 68.4% of his passes (14/20) for 161 yards, one touchdown and an interception. That’s usually what we see from him in the fourth quarter. Of course, his fourth-quarter efforts weren’t half bad either.
Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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