The playing time has been officially determined.
The NFL announced Monday evening that the NFC Divisional Round between the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field will take place on Sunday, January 18 at 5:30 PM CT.
The time was finally set at the end of Monday’s No. 5 Houston Texans vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh Steelers game, with the Texans advancing to the next round after a 30-6 win.
As the next games approach, here’s what you need to know.
When do the Bears play next?
The Chicago Bears will take on the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field on Sunday, January 18 at 5:30 PM CT.
What channel is the Bears game on?
The Bears vs. Sunday’s Rams NFC Divisional Round Game will air on NBC 5. It will also be streamed here on the NBC Chicago streaming channel.
What happens if the Bears win? Latest NFL Playoff Bracket
There will be four NFL playoff games this weekend.
In the AFC, the No. 1 Denver Broncos will play the No. 6 Buffalo Bills on Saturday, January 17 at 3:30 p.m. That match will be broadcast on CBS.
In the NFC, the No. 1 seed Seattle Seahawks will face the lowest-ranked team, the San Francisco 49ers, on Saturday night at 7 p.m., with the game airing on Fox.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the No. 5 Houston Texans will play the No. 2 New England Patriots at 2 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN. The No. 2 Bears will take on the No. 5 Rams on Sunday night at 5:30 p.m., with the game airing on NBC.
The winner of the Bears-Rams game will face the winner of the Seahawks-49ers game. In the AFC, the winner of the Broncos-Bills game will face the winner of the Patriots-Texans game.
This will be followed by Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8. Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in Santa Clara, California.
What is the betting line for the game?
Even though the Bears are the home team and the higher seed in the matchup, they are still an underdog at most sportsbooks, including a +3.5 at DraftKings.
The over-under for the game is 51.5 points according to the book.
Matthew Stafford’s injury status
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a sprained index finger on his throwing hand during Saturday’s win over the Carolina Panthers, head coach Sean McVay told the media Monday.
The coach did say he fully expects Stafford to play in Sunday’s game against the Bears.
“He’s as tough as they come, but he’s feeling good,” McVay said. “He was able to get through it and he will be ready to go.”
How do Caleb Williams and Matthew Stafford compare?
Stafford is coming off one of the best regular seasons of his career, throwing for a league-leading 4,707 yards and a league-leading 46 touchdowns. He also threw just eight interceptions, completing 65% of his passes.
As a result, Stafford was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his NFL career and is considered one of the frontrunners for NFL MVP.
In his second NFL season, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 3,942 yards, setting a new Bears single-season record. He also threw for 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completing 58.1% of his passes.
Williams also set an NFL record for most fourth-quarter comebacks in his first two seasons as a pro, leading the Bears to eight wins when they trailed in the fourth quarter of games.
Rams foul
The Rams had the NFL’s best offense during the 2025 season, allowing nearly 400 yards per game. They also led the league in passing yards per game with 268.1, and they rushed for 126.6 yards per game, good for seventh in the league.
Their scoring offense was also the league’s best, averaging 30.5 points per game.
Most of their offense came through Puka Nacua, who racked up a whopping 129 receptions for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns, but Davante Adams was also a huge threat in the red zone, with 14 touchdowns on the season.
Not to be outdone, Kyren Williams rushed for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Blake Corum had 746 rushing yards on the year.
Ram defense
While the Rams had one of the league’s better scoring defenses, allowing 20.4 points per game, they are allowing 216.7 yards through the air per game, fifth-worst among NFL playoff teams this season.
They have also not been as strong on defense in recent games as they were earlier in the season. They have scored 30 points per game in their last five games, including 38 against the Seahawks and 31 against the Panthers.
Something else to note, especially given the cold weather at Soldier Field on Sunday: according to Aaron Schatz of ESPNthe Rams are extremely sensitive to short-yardage runs on third and fourth down, allowing opponents to convert on those types of plays 74% of the time, one of the worst rates in the league.
The NFL Divisional Round will determine who advances to the AFC and NFC Championship Games.
How cold will it be?
The Bears may be used to playing in cold weather, but the Rams certainly are not.
The NBC 5 Storm Team’s latest forecast for Sunday shows temperatures could be in the teens, making it one of the coldest games in Rams history.
According to Pro Football Reference, teams that play their home games primarily in domed stadiums have not fared well in outdoor playoff games when temperatures are below freezing; in those games, temperatures have been only 2-15 since 2000.
#Bears #Rams #Time #date #channel #set #NFL #playoff #game #Soldier #Field