The Chicago Bears have been living on the edge all season, this game won’t be any different.

Bold prediction No. 1: The Bears start fast. After weeks of slow starts, Chicago jumps on the Los Angeles Rams early and puts 17+ points on the board in the first half. This team feels overdue for a hot opening, and doing it at home could set the tone for a complete four-quarter performance.

Bold prediction No. 2: Caleb Williams outplays Matthew Stafford. Stafford is a proven veteran, likely the MVP and a Super Bowl winner, but this is January football in Chicago. The cold matters. The moment matters. And this postseason run has the feel of something defining for Williams, even this early in his career.

Bold prediction No. 3: The Bears special teams deliver a game-changing play. Whether it’s a punt return, a blocked field goal, or a perfectly timed fake, something unexpected swings momentum in Chicago’s favor.

Bold prediction No. 4: Colston Loveland remains unstoppable. He eclipses 100 receiving yards again, continuing his emergence as one of the most dangerous weapons on the field.

Final score prediction: This one comes down to the wire.

Bears 27, Rams 26

Caleb Williams vs Matthew Stafford | Bears vs Rams Divisional Playoff Preview

You’ve probably noticed by now. It’s the day before the divisional round and the Chicago Bears are about to host another playoff game following their first victory in 15 years. You’d think the city and media would be electric. Instead, it’s felt more subdued. How is that possible? Well, it’s probably because the Bears just got done slaying a demon that has tormented them for 30 years. Taking down the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, and doing it with a comeback for the ages, was easily the most cathartic and emotional moment in modern Bears history.

So many demons of the past, like Rodgers to Cobb and the 2010 NFC championship, could finally be put to rest because of that moment. However, it does present a major issue. Can the Bears summon enough energy and focus to keep playing high-quality football? The run isn’t over. They have a great Los Angeles Rams team coming to town with Super Bowl aspirations. Beating them will take a full 60-minute effort. It’s fair to wonder if the Bears have anything left after last Saturday.

History says emotional wins over rivals come at a price in the playoffs.

1980: Philadelphia Eagles finally slay the Dallas Cowboys in NFC championship

• Get stomped by Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl 27-10

1985: New England Patriots conquer the mighty Miami Dolphins in AFC championship

• Bears crush them in the Super Bowl 46-10

1993: Raiders finally vanquish Josh Elway and the Broncos in wild card round

• Fall 29-23 in Buffalo the next week

2010: New York Jets stun the Patriots in the divisional round

• Fall painfully short 23-19 in Pittsburgh

2014: Baltimore Ravens finally put down Steelers in wild card round after years of losses.

• Fall the next week in painful second half collapse to the Patriots

The Chicago Bears aren’t strangers to this phenomenon.

They had lost twice to the Minnesota Vikings in 1994. So most people expected the same result in the wild card round when the two teams met again. The Bears shocked everybody with a 35-18 upset, sending the Vikings home in humiliating fashion. Unfortunately, they were stomped 44-15 the next week by San Francisco. Now this Bears team is considerably better than that one. They have a better quarterback, better head coach, better offensive personnel, and way more experience on defense. They will also be playing at home.

One would think that gives them a good chance to avoid the trap, right? Maybe. Everything comes down to how well head coach Ben Johnson prepares them. Players have said this week that he has been on them about moving on from the Packers. As great as the win was, it’s over. They must prepare for the Rams. This is a sign that Johnson understands the danger. Whether his warnings will be enough to overcome the hangover will be revealed by how the Chicago Bears perform Sunday night.

Few players have filled the role of villain in Chicago Bears lore over the past few decades more than Clay Matthews. Not only was the former linebacker an excellent player, one of the best pass rushers of his era, but he also happened to be an arrogant prick who didn’t mind playing dirty at times. He seemed to take a particular twisted satisfaction in torturing the Bears with both his play and his mouth. The fact that he retired before they had a chance to get proper revenge felt like we were cheated by the football gods.

Retirement hasn’t stopped him from taking shots at every opportunity. Matthews saved his biggest for the NFL draft in Green Bay, where he concluded his announcing of a Packers pick by loudly declaring “the Bears still suck.”

Well, they say karma catches up to you eventually. It started that weekend when the Bears put together what appears to be one of their best drafts in a decade, headlined by Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Kyle Monangai. However, it hammered home several months later when Chicago stunned the Packers in the wild card round with an 18-point comeback to win. Matthews, who’d bet on his former team to win, suffered a cruel fate as a result.

Clay Matthews had that coming for years.

Seeing him take his medicine for once is incredibly cathartic after what he put the Bears through for a decade. Perhaps no photograph better encapsulates how satisfying that victory was than Matthews in that cheese grater hat. Here’s hoping the Bears get more chances to humble his ego in the coming years. It certainly looks like the rivalry is back on, which is something he never had to deal with during most of his career in Green Bay. He played against some rough teams. One can only imagine how he would’ve handled Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams twice a year.

It doesn’t matter. Clay Matthews is the past. The Bears can finally look to the future. They have a chance to further the most storybook playoff run in franchise history on Sunday with an upset of the powerhouse Los Angeles Rams. It’s asking a lot. So much emotion was poured into the victory last week. Do the Bears have enough left in the tank to bring their best against Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford? We’ll find out. No question it’ll ruin Matthews’ day if they do.

Last week, everything seemed to be lining up. Matt Ryan was becoming the new president of football operations for the Atlanta Falcons. He is a great friend of Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles. The Falcons needed a new general manager. Ian Cunningham had worked with Poles for years. It seemed like a natural fit. Both sides met. Nothing seemed amiss. However, silence has since followed. Nobody is sure what is happening in Atlanta. Recent updates indicate it isn’t looking good for Cunningham.

According to Ricky Scoops, one of the most accurate NFL insiders on Twitter (X), the Falcons currently favor San Francisco 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, with the idea of possibly pairing him with Robert Saleh as the new head coach. Cunningham is not mentioned at all. This indicates the Bears assistant GM has either fallen out of favor or has gotten cold feet about joining the Falcons. Either way, it sounds like his time in Chicago isn’t over yet.

Ian Cunningham backing out seems the most likely.

A big reason for this stems from the unusual structure the Falcons have selected for their front office. Thanks to Ryan’s appointment, he is now the organization’s top football decision-maker. That means whoever becomes the GM won’t be seen as such. Cunningham would basically get a title-only promotion, with no real power to go with it. He’d still answer to Ryan. How would that be appealing to him? He’s turned down opportunities with far greater incentives than what Atlanta now offers.

Truth be told, this development is a blessing in disguise for the Bears. Had Ian Cunningham taken the job, not only would they have lost one of their top executives, but they likely wouldn’t have received two compensatory 3rd round picks in return since it wouldn’t have been considered a “promotion.” In addition, Cunningham’s calming presence will keep Poles’ more aggressive urges in check moving forward as the Bears continue building their roster towards possible contention.

Cold weather will be a factor in Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams. Projections have it around 21 degrees, dropping as low as 10, with 19 mph winds, giving it a real feel of -1. It will be one of the coldest games in franchise history. That is why Bears fans feel it provides a significant advantage against a Rams team that has played most of its season in a dome or mild-to-warm weather. Yet their fans and some experts believe the weather advantage means nothing. Is that true? Former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden had thoughts on it.

He is a qualified authority on this. Gruden spent the entirety of his NFL career as a head coach with warm-weather teams. It started with the Raiders in Los Angeles and Oakland, and then moved to Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers. Is cold weather really a factor? Gruden didn’t mince words.

Gruden is as competitive as anybody. So when he tells you the extreme temperatures absolutely have an impact on teams accustomed to warmer climates, it says a lot.

History does back Jon Gruden up on this.

In the seven coldest games on record that took place between a cold-weather team and a dome or warm-weather team, the cold-weather teams are 7-0. Does that guarantee a victory for the Bears? Of course not. This is the playoffs, and the Rams are an excellent team. If Chicago doesn’t play at a high level, it won’t matter what the temperature is. However, if the two sides play at similar levels, other factors will become more important. In this case, whichever side understands how to handle the extreme cold better.

Remember, the Bears already played in similar conditions earlier in the season. They thumped Cleveland 31-3 at Soldier Field when it was 8 degrees. Ben Johnson has had them practicing in the cold without heaters all year. They’re long accustomed to the frigid conditions. Jon Gruden can see the scenario unfolding. If the Rams aren’t prepared for what awaits them on the lakefront, they may not play their best football. When that happens in a playoff game, the results don’t end well.