Daniel Jeremiah@MoveTheSticks
We’ve talked about it for years– in playoffs, you need WR’s with strength to catch through contact. The windows shrink. You’ll be in confined space. You must attack the ball with strong hands and finish.

zn wrote:

wv wrote:

Orlovsky on the Curl INT.

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Kam Curl saw the OT interception coming the moment the Bears lined up for that play, based on something the Rams identified and worked on this week.

from Atkins: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6982211/2026/01/19/rams-divisional-round-playoff-win-bears/?source=emp_shared_article

The Bears had the ball across the 50 with a chance to finally drive the dagger into the Rams’ hearts. When Chicago jogged out in an empty formation with two extra pass protectors, Kam Curl knew exactly what was coming next, thanks to a meeting during the week with defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant.

“He put a little nugget in my ear,” Curl said. “They were trying to take a shot. It was like an inside scissors or a snake concept, and I knew I had the corner on the outside. I’d seen the receiver (DJ Moore) break in. I met him, and (Williams) threw the ball. And I had to go and get it.”

This was the game of Curl’s life, on a night the Rams had to have it. It was a rare moment when their MVP-level quarterback threw no touchdowns. The youngest coach to win a Super Bowl was fighting a losing battle against the elements. The quarterback on the other side had just made the longest throw by air yards in the red zone in the history of the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. And a Soldier Field crowd was roaring in the most expensive game by ticket sales in Bears history.

That interception, followed by yet another no-look pass by Matthew Stafford, then set up the kick of a lifetime for a player who wasn’t on the Rams when the season first began

JimEverett.eth@Jim_Everett
An observation I’ve witnessed first hand & maintained for a number of years. It’s bigger than Chris but he’s an excellent Cincinnati example.

In general, the Midwest & East coast guys (even commentators) tend to stick together and they’ll have a tendency to bag on the West coast teams (Troy Aikman is a tweener being Texas as a Pro but UCLA guy) Why? Not a psychologist, just an observer. The NFL is whole heartily a New York based entity (until Kronke built them a building next to SoFi so things were supposed to be more west coast influenced…but it hasn’t happened yet) so even tho the Rams are successful, the other half of the country doesn’t follow (especially with the time change and west coast games ending at midnight or 1am). So there’s a location bias…spent years watching this play out. Chris is just another example of staying close to the core. Still questioning? Where are all the major network NFL pregame shows at?

Adam Grosbard@AdamGrosbard
Sean McVay on Rams offense: “I did not do a very good job for our group tonight but I thought our guys were able to overcome it.”

Said he never got a feel for the game, and was particularly regretful of his 3rd-and-1 call at the start of OT.

wv wrote:

Orlovsky on the Curl INT.

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Kam Curl saw the OT interception coming the moment the Bears lined up for that play, based on something the Rams identified and worked on this week.

Wyatt Miller@wymill07
Kam Curl today:

– 1 INT in overtime
– A team-high 13 total tackles
– 2 PDs
– 1 QB hit
– 1 4th-down run stop

Maybe the best game of Curl’s career comes at the perfect time

BearsMuse@ChiBearsMuse
I can’t lie, this feels different than all the other Playoff losses we’ve had. It’s a peaceful loss, because usually after these losses in the Playoffs, we don’t have anything to really be excited for, but now we have Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson, and a young Offensive core that’s only going to get better. It was an unfortunate result, but I’m not as sad because of the potential there is on this team. We will be back and I cant wait for next Season. It will always be Bear Down!

Sarah Barshop@sarahbarshop
Matthew Stafford said he could have played better, but “playoff football is about winning.”

“Played great, threw for a bunch of yards last year in the snow and we lost, so that s— sucks. So I’m happy to have played a little bit worse today and going home with a win.”

Nate Atkins@NateAtkins_
Cobie Durant said last week that his mentality on defense was, “Get the ball back for Matthew Stafford.”

Filthy throw that an MVP makes in a gotta-have-it moment pic.twitter.com/EjBeetX68M

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) January 19, 2026

…

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Asked Matthew Stafford about the throw he made to Davante Adams in OT (and Adams’ catch):

Zooey wrote:

I don’t understand McVay’s play-calling sometimes. Under these conditions, with a clear superiority in the ground game over the Bears’ defense, he…throws 75% of the time? WTF?

InvaderRam wrote:

that was infuriating. i don’t know why he kept trying to throw it so much. maybe what the defense was giving them?

canadaram wrote:

McVay insisting on passing despite the conditions

That was a running commentary (so to speak) in chat. Where’s the run game, where’s the run game. It’s a running commentary (so to speak) in twitter. Maybe the post-game articles will come up with something to explain it, other than it just being McVay mishandling playcalling.

And Stafford was way off in that game. Plus, lucky thing that unlike the Rams, the Bears defenders don’t know how to catch the ball. Nacua, under these conditions, was not his usual dominant self, though he came through a number of times (he caught only 50%).

But here’s what I saw that I didn’t expect. Remember earlier in the season when the Rams defense included good secondary play? Well as much as this group can do that, it did it. The secondary was tighter this game than in the last few games.

In the end what won it for the Rams (IMO) were 2 things. The INTs, and Stafford, in spite of a rough game, being steady eddy when it counted. No matter what happened (sacked 4 times, less than 50% completions) he bounced back up and engineered enough scoring drives to win it. It was clear this was not the Rams usual offensive dominance, cause it was in snow and wind and cold on the road…so the game came down to them toughing it out to do just enough to win. For that to happen Stafford had to be unflappable and just keep slugging away. He did it. Remember this is a comeback overtime win for him (comebacks count against ties).

It might sound odd, but I am glad Caleb Williams came through with huge plays. I am glad he was everything he was advertized to be. Including that impossible tying TD at the close of regulation. First, because it was fun to see–in spite of it coming at the Rams expense. But also because this way, the Rams beat them in spite of a good showing by Williams. He wasn’t like Stroud falling apart for the Texans. No, Williams was everything he was supposed to be, but the Rams toughed out a win nevertheless.

…

Cobie Durant is the first @RamsNFL player to have 2️⃣ INTs in a playoff game since 2002

LARvsCHI on NBC
Stream on #NFLPlus + Peacockpic.twitter.com/LUOWPK4bwb

— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) January 19, 2026

.@RamsNFL @ChicagoBears @Kyrenwilliams23 behind excellent blocks from Parkinson & McClendon jr for go ahead TD. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/GirRtYtBNr

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) January 19, 2026

Just checked stats on the AFC game.

Texans still in it even though Stroud has 4 INTs. Houston also lost a fumble. 5 giveways for the boys from Texas.

Stroud has less than 50% on completions.

The Pats fumbled 4 times and lost 2. Maye has 1 INT. So that’s 3 for them.

Maye was sacked 5 times. So with him, it’s 1 INT, 2 lost fumbles, and 5 sacks. 95 yards passing at the end of the 3rd.

Neither team can run the ball.