The Chicago Bears scored 25 fourth-quarter points to survive the Wild Card Round, and they'll look to carry that momentum into their Divisional Round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. For some people, the Rams are a sneaky favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX.
The Bears have one apparent distinct advantage heading into the game. The weather forecast for Chicago on Sunday night calls for extreme cold, and the dome team from California will surely struggle to deal with the elements. The Bears will at least be able to practice in conditions close to those to prepare.
That said, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford played plenty of late-season games in Chicago and Green Bay during his time with the Detroit Lions. So the cold, to sort of paraphrase a certain notable kid's movie, may not really bother him.
Most important Bears' player vs. the Rams is sneakily obvious
In terms of Bears' players who need to play well to beat the Rams, there are a few who are very obvious. Going away from the obvious in mind, as he named the most important non-quarterback for each team in the Divisional Round, Jim Wyman of Pro Football Focus went with edge rusher Montez Sweat for Chicago.
"Matthew Stafford injured his throwing hand in the Rams’ win over the Panthers in the wild-card round, and while he did make some clutch throws late in the game, it was very apparent that he wasn’t 100% for much of the contest. If things don’t improve with his hand throughout the week, a dominant pass rush could wreak havoc on a Rams offense that ranked at or near the top in many major categories throughout the season."
"That could be a lot to ask for a Chicago pass rush that ranked 24th in PFF pass-rushing grade at just 64.8 in the regular season and 28th in pressures with 263. Montez Sweat is on a bit of a hot streak, though, as he’s had a pass-rush grade close to or over 70.0 in four of his last five games, including a 73.6 figure in the wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. With another big game like that, the Bears could be in prime position to return to their first NFC Championship game since the 2010 season."
Sweat got a game ball from head coach Ben Johnson for his performance against the Packers, when he pressured Jordan Love seven times (tied for second-most among all defenders in the Wild Card Round). But he did not register a sack.
All season, and he had ebbs and flows, the Bears' pass rush has been Sweat and not a lot else. He accounted for 28.6 percent of their sacks during the regular season (10 out of 35), and 23.2 percent of their pressures, including the Wild Card Round (60 of 258, according to PFF).
Read more: Bears' No. 1 Divisional Round advantage could be diminished by Matthew Stafford
Rams wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams will be difficult for the secondary to cover, so the pass rush has to disrupt Stafford on a regular basis. Sweat will have to lead that charge, and he must finish with a sack or two on the Rams' signal caller if the Bears are going to have their best chance to advance to the NFC Championship Game.