Although Chicago were the NFC’s second seed, fifth ranked Los Angeles were favourites to win at Soldier Field as they finished the regular season with a better record and are led by MVP frontrunner Stafford.
The 37-year-old helped the Rams win the Super Bowl in 2022 but has never won the prestigious MVP award, and his offence struggled to get going in Chicago, where the temperature dipped to -8C with a wind chill of -13C.
Although perhaps fortunate to be level at 10-10 at half-time, the Rams inched ahead in the fourth quarter when Kyren Williams got the first score of a tight second half, running in a touchdown from five yards.
However, the Bears have won a record seven games this season when trailing inside the final two minutes. True to form, with 18 seconds remaining, Williams was flushed out of the pocket before launching a hopeful pass about 40 yards that was grabbed by tight end Cole Kmet in the end zone.
Chicago’s defence then got a stop on the first possession of overtime but Williams, who has been nicknamed ‘the Iceman’ for his ability to deliver under pressure, was intercepted for the third time in Sunday’s game.
At the other end of the field, Mevis made no mistake from 42 yards to end a thrilling season for the long-suffering Bears fans, the highlight being the team’s first play-off win in 15 years last week.
In Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach and Williams’ second since being the first overall draft pick in 2024, they helped Chicago go from worst to first in the NFC North, improving their record from 5-12 in 2024 to 11-6 this time.
“Some things you just can’t coach – he’s got that,” Johnson said of his quarterback. “I know he’s feeling it because we had some turnovers in there, but we’ll remember this and he’s going to be stronger for it.”
More to follow.