The Los Angeles Rams secured a nail-biting win in Chicago to beat the Bears in the NFL play-offs and follow the New England Patriots into the Conference Championships.
After leading the Bears to a record number of comeback victories this season, quarterback Caleb Williams had the chance to clinch another after throwing a stunning touchdown pass in the final seconds to send Sunday’s Divisional Round game into overtime.
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However, the 2024 number one draft pick threw an interception and on the Rams’ subsequent drive, Harrison Mevis’ field goal secured a 20-17 win in freezing conditions in Illinois.
In Massachusetts, the Patriots also moved to within one win of the Super Bowl, overcoming snow and the vaunted Houston Texans defence to win 28-16.
Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford and Patriots counterpart Drake Maye are the leading contenders for this season’s Most Valuable Player award and could still meet in the NFL’s title decider.
The Rams must travel to divisional rivals Seattle for the NFC Championship game next Sunday, while New England will visit the Denver Broncos in the AFC equivalent.
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The winners will play in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, 8 February at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Williams comes up short in latest miracle fightback
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.
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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, 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.
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“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.”
How Maye could eclipse Brady this season
New England have also made an unexpected play-off appearance this season with a new head coach in Mike Vrabel and a fellow second-year quarterback in Maye taking them from bottom to top of their division.
The Patriots improved from 4-13 in 2024 to 14-3 to clinch the AFC’s second seed, with that 10-win swing tied for the biggest turnaround in NFL history.
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It is the first time the Patriots have won the AFC East division title and reached the AFC Championship game since legendary quarterback Tom Brady’s last two seasons in New England (2018 and 2019).
And in Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Patriots have finally found Brady’s long-term successor.
At 23, he is a year younger than the record seven-time Super Bowl winner was when he claimed his first NFL title in 2002, and Maye again showed a maturity beyond his years on Sunday.
Both he and opposite number CJ Stroud struggled with the wintry conditions and Maye had three turnovers – two from fumbles and one an interception. He was also sacked five times.
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However, he also delivered three touchdown passes, two to help establish a 21-10 lead at half-time and the latter a 32-yard deep shot in the fourth quarter to Kayshon Boutte, who made a superb one-handed grab to seal victory.
Meanwhile, after throwing just eight interceptions in 14 games during the regular season, Houston’s third-year quarterback Stroud gave up four picks in the first half alone, with one of them returned for a touchdown by Marcus Jones.
For the Texans, this was a third straight exit at this stage in the play-offs, despite having the NFL’s top-ranked defence this season and winning 10 straight games coming into it.
Ironically, in next week’s AFC Championship game, Maye will face Jarrett Stidham, who was initially seen as Brady’s successor when he was drafted by the Patriots in 2019 and played that season as his back-up.
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It never worked out in New England for Stidham but, after joining Denver in 2023, the 29-year-old will make only the fifth start of his NFL career because the Broncos’ first-choice quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in their win over Buffalo on Saturday.
When are the Conference Championships?
Conference seed in brackets, all kick-off times GMT
Sunday, 25 January
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AFC Championship: New England Patriots (2) @ Denver Broncos (1) – 20:00
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NFC Championship: Los Angeles Rams (5) @ Seattle Seahawks (1) – 23:30
