The 11-6 Chicago Bears will play the 12-5 Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field in a divisional-round playoff matchup. Here’s what you need to know before the chilly kickoff (5:30 p.m., NBC-5, Peacock).
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5 things to watch for — plus our predictions
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford warms up before a game against the Panthers on Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
How do you follow up the greatest postseason comeback in franchise history? How does a team move past the dramatic high of beating an archrival in a playoff game in front of its home fans?
In the NFL, the only thing to do is move forward. The Bears have to do that this week. Last weekend’s 31-27 win — an 18-point comeback — over the Packers is in the rearview. Sunday’s matchup against the Rams is looming large in front of them.
With it comes a matchup against MVP candidate Matthew Stafford at quarterback and Super Bowl-winning coach Sean McVay. Read more here.
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Elite play-callers Ben Johnson and Sean McVay take center stage
Bears coach Ben Johnson walks on the field as players prepare for a game against the Lions at Soldier Field on Jan. 4, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
When Bears coach Ben Johnson faces off against Sean McVay’s Rams, at least one legendary offensive mind will be digesting the chess match of X’s and O’s from home.
“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll watch it,” Tom Moore told the Tribune.
The 87-year-old retired this month after 62 years in coaching, having last served as a senior offensive consultant for the Buccaneers last season. Along the way, Moore won four Super Bowl rings with three teams, including the 2006 Colts. And he knows an offensive guru when he sees one, and he sees a couple of elite play-callers in McVay, who’s in his ninth season, and Johnson, a first-year head coach. Read more here.
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Bears have busted these 10 myths. Can they keep it going?
Bears tight end Colston Loveland catches a pass in the fourth quarter of an NFC wild-card game against the Packers on Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
One win from reaching the NFC championship game and two shy of the third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, the Bears have shattered expectations at seemingly every turn.
The cardiac Bears have been myth busters, defying odds, answering fair questions with resounding answers and destroying some public sentiments along the way. Here are 10 myths they’ve busted … so far. Read more here.
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Flashback: Bears and Rams played in the NFC championship game 40 years ago
Rams running back Eric Dickerson comes up short of running room against Bears defenders Mike Richardson (27) and Mike Singletary (50) on a second-quarter carry during the Jan. 12, 1986 NFC championship at Soldier Field. (Fred Jewell/AP)
The Bears and Rams have faced each other only twice previously in the playoffs.
A Dec. 17, 1950, game was needed to break a conference tie. The Rams won 24-14 in front of more than 83,000 people at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.
The Jan. 12, 1986, meeting was part of the memorable Bears season. Here’s a look back at how the teams got to the NFC championship game — and how their second postseason matchup played out. Read more here.
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Country music star Chase Rice — Ben Johnson’s good friend — will perform Sunday’s halftime show
Chase Rice arrives at the 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11, 2023, at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)
Naturally, coach Ben Johnson’s fingerprints are all over the 2025 Bears. That apparently even includes the halftime show.
On Sunday, Johnson’s high school buddy and college roommate will be the halftime entertainment at Soldier Field. That would be country music star Chase Rice. Johnson and Rice both grew up in Ashville, N.C., and played football at A.C. Reynolds High School. Johnson was the quarterback on the school’s 2002 state championship team. Read more here.
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Latest Bears stadium news
Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia speaks at a news conference about the Mega Project bill and how to keep the Bears in Illinois on Jan. 16, 2026, in Arlington Heights. Surrounding him are politicians, school district officials and labor unions. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Arlington Heights officials called Friday for Illinois lawmakers to get moving on a proposed new Bears stadium in the northwest suburb — even as Indiana lawmakers introduced a bill to draw the team to their state.
Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia warned that without legislation to let the Bears negotiate property taxes for the stadium, the team may move across the border, warning, “We cannot fumble this opportunity.” Read more here.
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/18/chicago-bears-los-angeles-rams-playoffs/
