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Curl overcomes Morris years, rebuilds image to career peak against Bears Sunday

Former Arkansas Razorback turns Cinderella killer for Rams in playoffs
Kent Smith|
Los Angeles Rams safety Kam Curl (3) celebrates with safety Kamren Kinchens (26) after intercepting a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (not pictured) during overtime of an NFC Divisional Round game at Soldier Field.
Los Angeles Rams safety Kam Curl (3) celebrates with safety Kamren Kinchens (26) after intercepting a pass intended for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (not pictured) during overtime of an NFC Divisional Round game at Soldier Field. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Arkansas RazorbacksLos Angeles Rams

CHICAGO — It was Caleb Williams' Cinderella story to orchestrate.

The Chicago Bears were the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, the overall NFL field had quickly cleared itself of most of the traditional playoff power quarterbacks, and the Midway was covered in snow on a cold evening against a team used to playing and practicing in the friendly, warm conditions of the Los Angeles area.

Once Williams came up with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cole Kmet on 4th &4 with 18 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, it was clear nothing could stop Chicago from finally completing its story once again after a 40-year drought without a Super Bowl victory. That is except for former Arkansas defensive back Kam Curl.

Curl had the kind of NFL playoff game defensive backs dream of while in college. In the frigid conditions with a trip to the NFC championship game on the line, Curl led the Rams with 13 tackles while chipping in a hit on Williams in the backfield and a couple of crucial pass break-ups.

However, it was in overtime, as one's imagination always allows it to be when picturing these scenarios, that he tracked Williams' pass across the snowy terrain, trusted his footing on the dive, and came away with the type of catch usually reserved for elite wide receivers for an interception that handed Los Angeles its third trip to the conference championship game since 2018.

“I feel like every secondary has their ups and downs in this league," Curl said. "I feel like they magnified our downs. I feel like today we showed them that we make plays.”

For McVay, it was hard to watch from the sideline as Williams drove the Bears down the field. When Curl came down with the interception, he couldn't contain his excitement on the sideline.

"I thought our defense, they just made them snap it one more time," Rams head coach Sean McVay said. "It looked like [the Bears] were getting themselves close to field goal range. What a freakin' play by Kam Curl. I thought our defense came up time in, time out tonight."

Curl's pick killed the Bears' 10-play drive at the Rams' 22-yard line, setting up an opportunity to ice the game, lame dad joke intended, under NFL overtime rules that allow a team to win on a field goal if the opponent has already possessed the ball.

That allowed Los Angeles to put veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford in conservative mode as he carefully led the Rams on their own 10-play drive that highly valued ball security to set up Harrison Mevis for a 42-yard game-winning field goal.

Mevis would finish a perfect 2-of-2 despite the cold, slick conditions that often make for a hard ball and heavy air, both of which limit how well the ball will fly.

The past two times the Rams made it to the NFC championship game, they went on to play in the Super Bowl. In fact, Los Angeles hasn't advanced this far since 1989 without winning their way to Super Sunday, including those years in St. Louis with Kurt Warner's storybook run at quarterback.

As for Kurl, he was with the Razorbacks fighting his way through a much tougher opponent than the Chicago Bears the last time Los Angeles went to the NFC championship game without Stafford at quarterback — Chad Morris.

Despite the program destroying disaster that was the Morris tenure, Curl managed to find a way to shine. His junior season, he put up 76 tackles, including four for a loss, and came away with a pair of interceptions while forcing three fumbles, two of which he recovered.

Looking to get out of the Hogs' crashed and burned situation as quickly as possible, Curl saw his chance and lept into the NFL draft. It was a risk skipping his senior season as he barely snuck in as a seventh round pick to Washington, but the bet on himself paid off.

Curl dedicated himself and quickly surpassed the potential he had shown while at Arkansas.

He came out the gates in 2020 under the difficult circumstances presented by COVID to rack up 88 tackles, a pair of sacks and three interceptions from his safety position. To cap it off, he returned one of those interceptions 76 yards for a touchdown.

Despite not starting until Week 8, Curl was able to put up strong enough numbers to be named to Pro Football Focus' All-Rookie Team.

In 2023, Curl put up what was by far his best career numbers with 115 tackles. That set him up for the chance to sign with Los Angeles at a modest $4.5 million per year.

His pay was expected to double in contract negotiations going into next season, but his performance against the Bears Sunday evening might inch that final number up just a tad. Curl once again set a career high in a contract year, this time with 122 tackles and a pair of interceptions.

However, right now he is focused on doing what every Ram has done since a decade before he was born — make it to the Super Bowl after getting to the NFC championship game. By playing over 85% of the available snaps and making the playoffs, Curl should have triggered a $2 million bonus for the second season in a row.

The only money left on the table is $171,000 should he earn himself a Super Bowl ring or $96,000 if he were to make the Super Bowl, but fall short. Of course, Curl is already practiced in how to celebrate winning an NFL championship.

Morris had Curl celebrate wins over Portland State and Colorado State in "Club Dub" as if the Hogs had actually won the Super Bowl, so there was valuable practice time scraped together in his final season as a Razorback.

However, something says this time around, the celebration will be quite a bit more authentic and equally memorable for a much different reason.

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Kent Smith
KENT SMITH

Kent Smith has been in the world of media and film for nearly 30 years. From Nolan Richardson's final seasons, former Razorback quarterback Clint Stoerner trying to throw to anyone and anything in the blazing heat of Cowboys training camp in Wichita Falls, the first high school and college games after 9/11, to Troy Aikman's retirement and Alex Rodriguez's signing of his quarter billion dollar contract, Smith has been there to report on some of the region's biggest moments. 

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