It’s Matthew Stafford of the Rams vs. Caleb Williams of the Bears for Sunday Night Football this weekend, and Los Angeles Rams’ head coach Sean McVay didn’t mince words when it came to what his team is going up against.
“He’s an explosive play waiting to happen,” McVay, speaking to reporters, said Monday, of Williams. It’s why they can get back into games and finish the way that they have.”
Saturday against the Green Bay Packers, Chicago trailed 21-3 at halftime, and 21-6 through three quarters. In the fourth, Chicago went on to outscore Green Bay 25-6 in an epic comeback as the clock ticked down.
The win marked marked only the fourth time in NFL history a team has won a playoff game when trailing by 15 points or more.
“I think there’s a belief that they’ve established,” McVay continued, “And I think when you have those types of successful outcomes, no different from Matthew the other day…I feel that when I watch Caleb, and I watch that team. There’s a belief that they can find ways to finish and that’s why there in this situation. But he is gonna be a nightmare to defend, and were excited about diving into this prep, ’cause here we freaking go man.”
McVay’s also said the Bears were the only team in the NFC the Rams “weren’t as familiar with.”
“We’re excited about these challenges,” McVay said. “This is what its about.”
The comments come two days after Stafford sprained a finger on his throwing hand in the first half of the Rams’ 34-31 victory over the Carolina Panthers Saturday, when he banged into the arm of a defender while throwing a pass.
“He’s as tough as it gets, but he’s feeling good,” McVay said. “He was able to push through it, and he’ll be good to go.”
Stafford is not expected to wear any protection in the form of a splint, McVay said. But he didn’t rule out anything the quarterback plans to do to keep his hands warm.
“Seems like it’s going to be pretty damn cold,” McVey said.
Stafford vs. Williams
Stafford is considered to be a strong contender for the MVP award after a stellar 2025 season, where he threw for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns for the Rams. He also threw just eight interceptions on the year, and was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his storied NFL career.
In eight postseason games with the Rams, Stafford has thrown for 2,392 yards and 18 touchdowns, winning the Super Bowl during the 2021 season.
Williams, on the other hand, in his second NFL season, threw for 3,942 yards, setting a new Bears single-season record in the process. He also threw for 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completing 58.1% of his passes.
Williams has also set an NFL record for most fourth quarter comebacks in his first two seasons as a pro, leading the Bears to eight victories when they’ve trailed in the fourth quarter of games.
What to watch for on Rams offense
The Rams had the NFL’s best offense during the 2025 season, racking up nearly 400 yards per game. They also led the league in passing yards per game with 268.1, and they rushed for 126.6 yards per game, good for seventh in the league.
Their scoring offense was also the league’s best, averaging 30.5 points per contest.
Most of their offense flowed through Puka Nacua, who racked up a staggering 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns, but Davante Adams was also a huge red zone threat, with 14 touchdowns on the season.
Not to be outdone, Kyren Williams rushed for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Blake Corum had 746 rushing yards on the year.
What to watch for on Rams’ defense
While the Rams did have one of the league’s better scoring defenses, allowing 20.4 points per game, they do allow 216.7 yards per game through the air, fifth worst among NFL playoff teams this season.
They also haven’t been as stout on defense in recent games as they were earlier in the season, allowing 30 points per game in their last five games, including 38 to the Seahawks and 31 to the Panthers.
One other thing to note, especially with how cold the weather will be at Soldier Field on Sunday: according to Aaron Schatz of ESPN, the Rams are extremely susceptible to short-yardage runs on third and fourth down, allowing opponents to convert on those types of plays 74% of the time, one of the worst percentages in the league.
What the Bears need to improve
The Bears’ defense has been struggling to get off the field on third and fourth down in recent weeks, and they’ve also been struggling to get to the quarterback on their pass rush, which is allowing opposing quarterbacks to have big games.
Jordan Love racked up 322 passing yards against the Bears in Saturday’s game, and was only sacked once in the game. The Packers also converted on all three fourth downs they faced, though they were just 6-for-15 on third down.
It was a similar story against the Detroit Lions, with the Bears allowing 311 passing yards and sacking Jared Goff just once.
Needless to say, Stafford will feast on the Bears if they can’t put pressure on him, and they’ll have to do that without TJ Edwards, who is out for the year, and they may have to do it without defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who left Saturday’s game with an injury.
The other key for the Bears, especially on a cold day on the lakefront, will be to take advantage of their running game, both to advance the ball and to keep Stafford and company off the field.
The Bears managed just 65 rushing yards against the Lions in their season finale, and they were forced to largely abandon their run game against the Packers on Saturday, rushing for just 93 yards.
Losing OT Ozzy Trapilo for the season was a significant blow for the Bears, but it could be cushioned if they can get Braxton Jones back in the fold before Sunday.
The big key for the Bears will be to get the run game going behind Theo Benedt and Joe Thuney on the left side, but something else to watch will be the snaps of Drew Dalman, who had some issues getting Williams the ball during the Saturday game at Soldier Field.
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