Winners and losers from Chicago Bears' dramatic Divisional Round loss to Rams

The Chicago Bears almost had one more miracle in the Divisional Round against the Los Angeles Rams, but ultimately fell short, 20-17, in overtime.

It wasn't for a lack of trying.

Caleb Williams and several of his teammates on offense took their best swings at a powerful Los Angeles Rams defense, and Dennis Allen's Bears defense was surprisingly tough against Matthew Stafford and the NFL's best offense.

Still, the Chicago Bears' 2025 season is over.

Here are the Bears' winners and losers from the Divisional Round loss.

WINNER: Caleb Williams

What more can you say about Iceman at this point? There's just something in his DNA that keeps the Bears alive even when all hope seems lost.

With less than 30 seconds left and down seven points, the Bears had one play left in their arsenal, and it looked all but dead at the snap. Williams drifted back... and back... and back before uncorking a laser to Cole Kmet in the back corner of the end zone. A play that looked impossible, converted.

And that's Caleb Williams.

NO WAY. CALEB WILLIAMS HEAVES IT ON 4TH DOWN.

LARvsCHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/JJymsDhen2
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2026

Some guys just have plays like this in their DNA. John Elway, Brett Favre, Patrick Mahomes... the NFL's greats.

Williams is one of those guys, and the Bears are lucky to have him.

LOSER: DJ Moore

Look, Moore wasn't terrible against the Rams. In fact, he was the most productive receiver on the team. But his lack of effort in overtime led to Williams' third interception, which cost the team the game.

WHAT IS DJ MOORE DOING?

He had this open deep shot, and he gave up on the route, which lead to the Caleb Williams interception.

Can someone explain? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/jASDXfk2fK
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 19, 2026

Moore is a critical piece on offense, and if his effort lags, the team doesn't stand much of a chance to win. It proved to be fatal on Sunday.

WINNER: Joe Thuney

Thuney had a fantastic day at left tackle against a productive Rams pass rush. It was a fantastic performance by the 2025 All-Pro, who proved once again that he is the ultimate team player.

Thuney will return in 2026 to be the starting left guard once again. But at least there's comfort knowing he can step in at left tackle if a crisis strikes again.

LOSER: Rome Odunze

At some point, we have to have a conversation about Rome Odunze.

He's a great route-runner. He's a physical mismatch. He's an A+ guy. But he's had a serious problem with drops in 2025, and he had the most costly drop of his career on the first possession of the Divisional Round game.

rome odunze is so bad it’s unreal drops a wide open touchdown
wide open touchdown dropped by the 9th overall pick pic.twitter.com/UMWDmkp0uf
— Jimbo (@JimbosJunkbox) January 18, 2026

Had Odunze held onto the ball and the Bears scored a touchdown, who knows how the game would've ended up?

It wasn't a great day for the 2024 first-round pick, who needs a reboot in 2026 before dropping down the pass-catching pecking order.

Rome Odunze tonight:

🧱 4 targets
🧱 1 receptions
🧱 27 yards
🧱 3 drops

Brutal. pic.twitter.com/MqY8bY5qQW
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) January 19, 2026

WINNER: Kyle Monangai

What's not to love about Kyle Monangai? He's a true tone-setter, and it's frustrating that his number wasn't called more, especially as the Bears got inside the five-yard line.

KYLE. MONANGAI. 💪

LARvsCHI on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/Ol2XOfdhMq
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2026

Still, Monangai had 72 total yards and key first-down conversions. He'll be in the mix to be Chicago's RB1 in 2026 and beyond. He's earned that role this season.

LOSER: Ben Johnson (sort of)

No, I'm not saying Ben Johnson had a bad day calling plays. But it would've been nice to get some points early in the game, rather than two failed fourth-down attempts when the Bears were in field goal range.

Every point mattered on Sunday, and had the Bears taken a slightly more conservative route, they might be moving on to Seattle.

WINNER: Jaquan Brisker

Brisker was all over the field and was a huge reason why the Bears' defense limted Matthew Stafford to just 258 yards and no toucdowns.

He led Chicago in tackles (14), had one sack and a tackle for loss.

Brisker is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and saved his best performance of 2025 for his last. Hopefully, GM Ryan Poles figures out a way to keep him in a Bears uniform for a long time.