Rams Edge Bears in Overtime Thriller Despite Caleb Williams' Incredible Play

The Los Angeles Rams had to be deflated after Caleb Williams pulled off one of the most remarkable highlights in NFL playoff history, a wild fourth-down touchdown pass with the Chicago Bears’ season on the line to tie the game with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. And when the Rams punted to start overtime, then let the Bears start driving downfield, it seemed like the Bears’ magical season would continue to the NFC championship game. Advertisement But the Rams also know how to win close games. Williams threw an interception to Rams safety Kam Curl with the Bears getting close to field-goal range. Then it was Matthew Stafford’s turn to show why he’s the likely NFL MVP. Stafford drove the Rams downfield, hitting Puka Nacua on a huge third-down play to get the Rams into field-goal range, and Los Angeles ended the Bears’ season on a field goal by Harrison Mevis for the 20-17 win. The Rams are moving on to the NFC championship game in Seattle where they’ll face the top-seeded Seahawks. The Seahawks and Rams played two games that came down to the final play in the regular season, including a wild Week 16 comeback for the Seahawks. They’ll face each other a third time in the NFC championship game next Sunday evening. Advertisement The Rams won’t be overwhelmed by the moment. They’ve already survived two white-knuckle games to move to the NFL’s final four. Chicago’s bitter cold, snow affect offenses The Bears have been a second-half team for much of the season, but the first half on Sunday night was pretty good for them. Chicago outgained the Rams 210-148 in the first half. The Bears did a good job limiting Nacua, who had three catches for 27 yards at that point, and shutting out Davante Adams in the first half. The Bears weren’t running it great in the cold weather but Williams played well. He had 155 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He also had an interception on a fourth down, one of the three times the Bears went for it on fourth down in the first half. The only time they converted on a fourth down was a big one. Williams hit DJ Moore for a 3-yard touchdown for the Bears’ only touchdown of the first half. Advertisement The Rams were out of sorts, and the weather was a factor. It was cold, with light snow coating the field. It’s not the type of weather a team from Southern California will naturally adapt to easily. The Rams were leaning on Stafford and the passing game, but it wasn’t effective in the conditions. That hasn’t been the case often this season for Stafford, who is the favorite to win NFL MVP. It was Bears weather, and that helped keep the game low-scoring and close. It was tied 10-10 going into the fourth quarter. Rams survive another jaw-dropping TD from Caleb Williams The third quarter was scoreless but there was plenty of excitement to come in the fourth quarter and overtime. Advertisement The Rams drove downfield and took a 17-10 lead when Kyren Williams scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to the right side. The Bears had a long drive after that but the Rams had a goal-line stand, stopping three runs and then batting down a pass on fourth down to take over on downs. The Rams couldn’t run out the rest of the clock and punted at the two-minute warning. A bad punt in the cold landed at the 50-yard line, giving the Bears great field position. And Chicago has been good at winning games with late heroics all season. The Bears reached the 14-yard line. Williams, who has made huge plays under pressure all season, retreated to about the 40-yard line under pressure on fourth-and-4 and somehow lofted a pass all the way to an open Cole Kmet in the end zone. The Rams thought there was a push-off by Kmet but there was no penalty called. Advertisement In the wild-card round, Williams had some marvelous plays in a comeback win over the Packers. Another ridiculous highlight play by Williams on Sunday night led to a 17-17 tie with 18 seconds left. The Bears, like the Bills did on Saturday at Denver, won the overtime coin toss and chose to kick off. The Rams were surprisingly conservative to start overtime, running three times and then punting. The Bears were moving when Williams tried a deep pass but was intercepted by Curl deep downfield. Williams said the pick was a result of miscommunication on a route between him and Moore. That got the Rams going. Stafford started completing passes and got the Rams into Bears territory. One third-and-6 he hit Nacua, who dragged Bears defenders for a 16-yard gain to the 27-yard line, within field-goal range. The Rams couldn’t get it much further but Mevis hit the field goal to win it. Advertisement The last time the Rams played at Seattle, they led 30-14 with less than nine minutes left but couldn’t close out a win and ended up losing on a 2-point conversion by the Seahawks in overtime. Despite that loss, many still felt the Rams were the best team in the NFL and the correct pick to make it to Super Bowl LX out of the NFC. We’ll find out next Sunday.