{"id":679206,"date":"2026-01-15T12:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/679206\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T12:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:33:14","slug":"chicago-bears-embrace-brutal-cold-as-ben-johnson-pushes-urgency-vs-rams-in-nfc-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/679206\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears embrace brutal cold as Ben Johnson pushes urgency vs Rams in NFC playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Bears embrace brutal cold as Ben Johnson pushes urgency vs Rams in NFC playoffs<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Winter is expected to play a major role when the Chicago Bears<\/a> host the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, with forecasts calling for temperatures in the teens, biting wind chills, and the possibility of snow.<\/p>\n

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Head coach Ben Johnson has leaned into that reality all week. At Halas Hall, heaters have been off limits during practice, a deliberate move aimed at hardening the roster for what awaits on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Safety Kevin Byard said the approach has not been universally popular, but he believes it will matter when the game begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Ben has been doing a good job of making us practice in this cold weather with no heat,\u201d Byard said<\/a>. \u201cNo heaters on the field, which has been a complaint for the most part for a lot of guys. But I think in these scenarios in this time of the year, you’re looking back on us like, \u2018hey man, it actually might be good that we didn’t have any heaters because our body’s going to be fully acclimated to this weather.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chicago has already endured harsh conditions this season, most notably an 8-degree kickoff against the Cleveland Browns<\/a> at Soldier Field. That experience, combined with this week\u2019s preparation, has reinforced the team\u2019s confidence heading into the NFC Divisional Round.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s message has<\/a> extended beyond the elements. Chicago owns seven fourth-quarter comeback victories, often fueled by quarterback Caleb Williams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe rises to the occasion time and time again,\u201d Johnson said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s really impressive to see a young player like this be so clutch.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The coach has stressed that waiting until late has become a risky habit, especially against a seasoned playoff opponent.<\/p>\n

Rams face history, environment as Bears aim for full-game execution<\/p>\n

The Rams arrive with their own challenges. Since relocating in 1995, the franchise has appeared in just six games that kicked off below 30 degrees, posting a 2-4 record.<\/p>\n

Two of those wins came under head coach Sean McVay, including victories over the Denver Broncos<\/a> and New York Jets<\/a>. League-wide trends add context. Domed teams are 2-15 since 2000 in playoff games played outdoors when temperatures dip below freezing.<\/p>\n

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Los Angeles survived a tense Wild Card game at Carolina, leaning heavily on quarterback Matthew Stafford, who finished with 304 yards and three touchdown passes. He briefly exited with a finger issue, but X-rays were negative, and he is expected to be available.<\/p>\n

The narrow win, however, set up a far different test. Chicago yielded the fourth-most yards during the regular season, yet it has built a reputation for resilience after halftime. Williams threw for 361 yards in the Wild Card Round, with nearly 190 coming in the final quarter despite two interceptions.<\/p>\n

Cold conditions in Chicago have historically complicated Stafford\u2019s efficiency, and analytical models increasingly view the Bears as a legitimate home upset candidate. Betting markets reflect the balance. Chicago opened<\/a> at +3.5, while Los Angeles sits at -3.5, with the total set at 48.5 points, per DraftKings.<\/p>\n

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More Bears news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears embrace brutal cold as Ben Johnson pushes urgency vs Rams in NFC playoffs originally appeared on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679207,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,1035,1036,692,391,2493,54,258,7,4861,1014,58,32,255,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-679206","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-ben-johnson","10":"tag-caleb-williams","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-bears","13":"tag-chicagobears","14":"tag-cleveland-browns","15":"tag-denver-broncos","16":"tag-football","17":"tag-kevin-byard","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-rams","20":"tag-matthew-stafford","21":"tag-new-york-jets","22":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115899138648152827","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}