NFL Divisional Round preview: Rams vs. Bears

The divisional round of the 2025-26 NFL playoffs takes place this weekend. With some exciting matchups on the docket for football fans, perhaps the final matchup of the weekend stands out the most.

The NFC’s No. 2 seed, the Chicago Bears, will host the No. 5 seed, the Los Angeles Rams, at Soldier Field Sunday evening.

Both teams had to battle back to win their respective wild-card matchups.

The Rams faced the four-seeded Carolina Panthers last Saturday in what was Carolina’s first home playoff game in nearly a decade.

The Panthers didn’t disappoint, overcoming an early 14-0 deficit and leading 31-27 with 2:39 to play.

A Colby Parkinson touchdown reception from Matthew Stafford gave the Rams a 34-31 lead with 38 seconds left, a lead they would not lose.

The Bears, on the other hand, had a much larger task in their game.

Chicago trailed the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime. The game looked out of reach when the Packers went up 27-16 with 6:36 left.

However, Green Bay’s defense collapsed, and Chicago kept scoring, 25 points in the fourth quarter alone, to complete the comeback.

Now, the two winners will meet for a spot in the NFC championship game.

The Rams are led by what might be the best quarterback and wide receiver duo in the NFL, MVP-favorite Matthew Stafford and his sidekick, Puka Nacua.

LA’s offense has plenty of other threats, such as Davante Adams, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, all with veteran coach Sean McVay at the helm.

But, Chicago’s young offense has given teams problems all season long. Ben Johnson, the former offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, has done an excellent job in his first season as Bears’ head coach.

The Bears’ quarterback, Caleb Williams, has also shown massive strides and flashes of superstardom in year two of his career.

His top weapons on offense include running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, rookie tight end Colston Loveland, and a wide receiver trio of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden III.

You could argue that Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are young Sean McVays and Matthew Staffords in the making, leading the matchup to be all the more interesting.

This will be the first postseason meeting between the Rams and Bears in over 40 years, with their last meeting coming in the 1985 NFC championship game. The iconic “85 Bears” shut out the Rams 24-0 on the way to winning their first Super Bowl title against the New England Patriots.

Ironically, the Bears and Patriots could meet again in Super Bowl LX, but that also depends on New England’s divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans.

Regardless of what happens, this matchup has the potential to be a classic.

Will the experienced Rams get another win on the hopeful route to their second Super Bowl victory since 2021, or will the young, up-and-coming Bears send their home crowd happy once again and advance even further in the playoffs?

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EST Sunday on NBC and Peacock.

Adam Pietrzak is a fifth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu