The Good, Bad, and Ugly From the Rams' Divisional Victory

CHICAGO, IL. The Los Angeles Rams barely escaped Chicago with a win but now that victory is secured and the Rams have punched their ticket to the NFC Championship, here's the good, bad, and ugly from the game.

The Good: The Defense's Refusal To Yield Anything

Watch the film before saying anything because there is zero reason the Rams should've held the Bears to only 17 points, especially with fiveish quarters of playoff football. The secondary held up well, the Bears were continually stopped as they tried to push towards their end zone and the two biggest stats of the night...three interceptions and the Bears went three for six on fourth down.

Any less interceptions or anymore fourth down conversions and the Bears would be victorious. Rams defensive backs Kam Curl and Cobie Durant made the interceptions when needed and Chris Shula's defense held the line long enough to get Matthew Stafford the ball to win it.

The Bad: The Inability to Kill An Opponent

The Rams allowed the Bears to win this game over and over again. It was only through sheer luck and massive inexperience that the Rams were able to get over their mistakes. The decision to run the ball with seven seconds before the two minute warning, knowing it was third down instead of giving the ball the Stafford was certainly a questionable choice, especially after giving Stafford the ball all day long but that's one thing.

Jan 18, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) looks on against the Los Angeles Rams during overtime of an NFC Divisional Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

To then give up a circus touchdown to Cole Kmet, where Caleb Williams ran nearly to midfield from the Rams' 14 yard line, is inexcusable. But that's not even the worst call.

The third and one call in overtime, where instead of playing physical football for one yard, McVay opted for a quick pitch that put Blake Corum multiple yards behind the line of scrimmage with 11 Bears flying to his location. Not only can that not happen, that's losing football. McVay did this in week one, on the goal line with Kyren Williams. Williams cut back to score on a play dead in the water. McVay said it was the wrong call then so what makes it right now? More importantly, if the Rams can't gain one yard when they have to have it, they won't win a Super Bowl. Mistakes continuously compound.

The Ugly: The Entire Offensive Operation

Sean McVay said it and we all saw it. The offense was horrific. The Rams came out in a pass heavy scheme...in snow and wind and nearly paid for it with their season. Where was Blake Corum? Why was Tutu Atwell made inactive when the Rams were going to use 11 personnel? Why was the run abandoned?

These are the questions for now but from my perspective, this is reminiscent of the Rams first four or five weeks of the season, where they would struggle to move the ball. We saw poor playcalling on short yardage situations, bad decisions by Matthew Stafford, a constant failure to address the blitz and more.

My thing is this. The Rams offensive staff has one of the NFL's best head coaches and two assistants who might be head coaches in less than one months time. How did the brain trust fail to address these issues before the game and then in real time? It's time for a long look at the operation because Seattle would've tore them apart if the Rams played them in this round instead of the next.

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