Rams vs. Bears will air on NBC, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial)<\/a>.<\/p>\n What: NFL Playoffs<\/a>, NFC Divisional Round<\/p>\n Who: Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears<\/p>\n When: Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026<\/p>\n Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois<\/p>\n Time: 6:30 p.m. ET<\/p>\n TV: NBC<\/p>\n Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial)<\/a>, Peacock<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a recent NFL story via the Associated Press:<\/p>\n LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 The Rams practiced in 82-degree sunshine Wednesday at their Woodland Hills training complex, making the most of a beautiful week even by Los Angeles\u2019 pleasant winter standards.<\/p>\n The playoff game for which they\u2019re preparing will be played at Chicago\u2019s Soldier Field on Sunday night in temperatures unlikely to get above 20 degrees, along with potential snow and whipping winds that could make it feel colder than zero.<\/p>\n Yet the Rams (13-5) all say the daunting weekend weather on Lake Michigan is no challenge compared to the task of beating the resilient Bears (12-6) when these teams meet for a spot in the NFC championship game.<\/p>\n \u201cBall is ball,\u201d defensive tackle Kobie Turner said with a shrug.<\/p>\n Matthew Stafford made the obvious point that even though they\u2019re currently living in Southern California, the Rams\u2019 coaches and players have all been in football weather before. Stafford spent the first 12 years of his career with the Lions, playing at Chicago and Green Bay every year and even occasionally practicing outdoors in the Detroit winter.<\/p>\n \u201cI love NFL football and the history of it \u2014 Lambeau Field, the Ice Bowl, all those kinds of things,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cThere\u2019s something to it, right? It feels right when football is outdoors, you\u2019re playing it late in the year, it\u2019s cold (and) it means a lot. I\u2019m embracing that, and I know our team is as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rams played in two wintry games last season, beating the Jets in sub-freezing temperatures before barely losing a divisional-round playoff game in the snow in Philadelphia. This season, they lost amid frigid winds at Seattle and in heavy rain at Carolina.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayed in Philly back in the day, (and) there was 6 inches of snow on the ground,\u201d Stafford said. \u201cPlayed in other games where it was just cold and dry. Just got to go figure out what the elements are, how it\u2019s going to affect the ball, and then go out and play.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rams obviously can\u2019t simulate Sunday\u2019s conditions in Woodland Hills \u2014 although coach Sean McVay had one interesting idea.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re going to do is we\u2019re going to get the biggest cold plunge (ice bath) ever, and everybody is going to see if we can sit in that thing for three hours,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Stafford\u2019s injured index finger on his throwing hand is \u201cgreat,\u201d according to the 37-year-old quarterback. He played through the mild sprain at Carolina, and it was treated quickly after the game. He won\u2019t wear a splint or any brace on it \u2014 and that\u2019s good, because gripping rock-hard footballs is enough of a challenge.<\/p>\n So is kicking those footballs, although rookie kicker Harrison Mevis has plenty of cold-weather experience from his college career at Missouri.<\/p>\n In truth, the Rams are counting on their past experiences and the support staff\u2019s preparations to keep them warm while they go to work in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cWe always adjust and adapt,\u201d McVay said. \u201c(The Bears) have to be able to play in those same elements. They obviously have had a little bit more experience, but we\u2019re not going to allow that to be an excuse. I think you do have to have a feel. I think the way that our guys play, I think it suits us well in any sort of conditions. … Let\u2019s be mindful that the ball is a little bit slicker. It feels like a rock. Other than that, let\u2019s roll.\u201d<\/p>\n K-Dot\u2019s ankle<\/p>\n Right guard Kevin Dotson hopes he will be able to return Sunday from a three-game injury absence with a sprained ankle incurred during the Rams\u2019 loss at Seattle last month.<\/p>\n Dotson said Wednesday that he believes he was initially hurt by normal contact against the Seahawks. Still, he didn\u2019t realize until two days later that linebacker Derick Hall had stepped on him after the play. Hall got a one-game suspension for his actions.<\/p>\n \u201cI gave him the benefit of the doubt,\u201d Dotson said. \u201cI was thinking he accidentally stepped on me, and then my teammates after the play, my dog (center) Coleman (Shelton) fought for me, pushed for me, and they told me what really happened. If I would have known that, I probably would have stood up. I didn\u2019t know somebody stepped on me and did all that until I saw the film. If I would have known that … look, I can\u2019t say too much, but I\u2019m past it. I\u2019m not going to hold nothing against him until I can see him and get my get-back. I\u2019m not going to step on nobody. I\u2019m going to get it between the (whistles). But I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Dotson is a standout run blocker and a sturdy pass protector who has been a major driver of the Rams\u2019 offense since his arrival three seasons ago.<\/p>\n Stafford called him \u201cone of the best guards, if not the best guard, in the league. Obviously, if we could get him back, that would be a huge boost.\u201d<\/p>\n Can I bet on the game? <\/p>\n Yes, you can bet<\/a> on the game from your phone in New York State, and we\u2019ve compiled some of the best introductory offers<\/a> to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM<\/a>, FanDuel<\/a>, DraftKings<\/a>, Bet365<\/a> and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you purchase a product through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. The Chicago Bears…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079],"tags":[7,1014,58,2444,2611,6,31185,424],"class_list":{"0":"post-687230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-rams","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-los-angeles","10":"tag-los-angeles-rams","11":"tag-losangeles","12":"tag-losangelesrams","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-nflraw25","15":"tag-rams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115918202501397067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687230","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=687230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"DIRECTV](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768771279_355_HUG7JF4VQVGLROPBUKYTEQM3HU.png\")
<\/p>\n