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Kmet found himself on the receiving end of a miraculous fourth-down throw by Caleb Williams to keep the Bears’ season alive with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Kmet’s score would force the game into overtime, but the Bears came up short in the extra frame after the Rams made the most of a Caleb Williams interception on the Bears’ only drive. Kmet’s numbers have now fallen off in back-to-back years. After going for 73-719-6 in 2023, the sixth-year vet saw his fewest targets (45), receptions (30), and receiving yards (347) since his rookie year this season, and found the end zone just twice. As far as his work as a pass-catcher is concerned, Kmet took a backseat to rookie Colston Loveland this season, and now looks expendable heading into this offseason despite signing a four-year contract extension in 2023. Per OverTheCap, the Bears can release Kmet for a dead cap hit of just $3.2 million if the team makes him a pre-June 1 cut. A post-June 1 cut would carry a $1.6 million dead cap hit. Kmet will turn 27 next season and could have plenty to offer another team as a starter should he become available.

It took a while for things to start paying off for the Bears, who selected Loveland with the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s draft. Despite a slow start out of the gate that resulted in just 116 scoreless receiving yards through the first eight weeks of the season, Loveland broke out in the second half for 47-597-6 over the final 10 games of the regular season, and went off for 8-137-0 on 15 targets in the Bears’ Wild Card win over the Packers. Loveland was the first tight end taken off the board in this year’s draft and appears to be on the fast track to being one of the best the league has to offer. His strong finish to the season will set the expectations for 2026 extremely high in both the real world and for fantasy managers. He’ll be on a short list for elite tight ends to consider drafting next season and could come at a premium as hype around his sophomore season grows.

Moore came up clutch in the second quarter when he hauled in a three-yard score on fourth-and-goal from the Rams’ three-yard line. Moore’s most notable play, however, may have come in overtime, when he appeared to pull up on a route while being targeted by Caleb Williams, which resulted in an easy interception for the defense that eventually led to a game-winning field goal by Harrison Mevis seven plays later. Moore saw his numbers dip drastically in 2025. His 50 receptions marked a new career low, as did his 682 receiving yards, but he still managed to find the end zone six times. The veteran receiver will be 29 at the start of next season and is under contract through the 2029 season. Despite his decreased role, Moore carries a dead cap hit just north of $35 million, so any idea of releasing him is likely off the table. That said, he could prove expendable this offseason if the team likes how Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are developing, which means a trade could be on the table for another team looking to upgrade the position. Moore’s situation will be one to monitor as the Bears consider their options this offseason and where he fits in their plans.

Monangai’s strong rookie season officially comes to an end. The seventh-rounder didn’t waste any time working his way into the Bears’ running back rotation last offseason, and popped up to rush for 169-783-5 as a rookie. Monangai’s 18 receptions for 164 yards could hint at increased usage in the passing game next season, and he also saw four or more targets in three of his final five games this season — including Sunday’s playoff game. While it seems unlikely he’ll be usurping D’Andre Swift on the running back depth chart next season, Monangai is clearly playing the “David Montgomery role” in Ben Johnson’s offense and thrived in that role in his rookie campaign. While it’s too early to say he’ll have any standalone value in 2026 fantasy leagues, Monangai is undoubtedly one of the top handcuffing options at the position next season.

Swift did not see a target in this one, as all the passing-down work instead went to rookie Kyle Monangai. Swift’s season ends with a regular-season rushing line of 223-1,087-9, marking the second time in his career that he has surpassed 1,000 yards in a season. Operating as the “lightning” to Kyle Monangai’s “thunder,” Swift was a key player in head coach Ben Johnson’s two-man committee approach, and wound up leading the bears in carries, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. Still under contract through next season, Swift should be back with the Bears but could be at risk of seeing more of a split backfield with Monangai likely poised for a bigger role in his second season.

Nacua’s 56 receiving yards tied with Colby Parkison for the team high in Sunday’s win over the Bears. His 10 targets led all Rams players, but Nacua was unable to get much of anything going through the air after going for 10-111-1 in last week’s win over the Panthers. The third-year receiver’s biggest play of the game came on a third-and-six in overtime when he converted a first down on a 16-yard gain to help move the Rams within field goal range. Kicker Harrison Mevis would nail a 42-yard field goal four plays later to send the Bears packing, as Nacua and the Rams now prep for an NFC West showdown with the Seahawks and a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Nacua went for a whopping 12-225-2 the last time the Rams played the Seahawks, and will hope to replicate some of those numbers next week in the Conference Championship game.

Williams found the end zone twice in this one. The fourth-year back punched in a four-yard score on the Rams’ opening possession to give his team an early 7-0 lead, and later found the end zone on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter to break a 10-10 tie. Williams never found much room to run in this one, with his longest runs coming on two 10-yard gains. The Rams didn’t truly lean on Williams until late in the game, as 14 of his 21 carries came in the fourth quarter or overtime, but his two scoring plays more than made up for his rather pedestrian total on the ground. Williams will face another tough test in next week’s NFC Championship Game when he goes on the road to face a stout Seahawks defense that held him to 23-70-0 on the ground the last time the two teams met.

Williams and the Bears appeared to be setting the stage for yet another comeback in this one. Facing a fourth-and-four with under 30 seconds left on the game clock, Williams dropped back and found himself immediately under duress. After dropping back over 25 yards beyond the original line of scrimmage, and with three defenders in his face, Williams heaved a perfectly thrown ball off his back foot into the end zone for Cole Kmet, who secured the pass for a 14-yard touchdown to force overtime. An errant pass on what appeared to be a miscommunication between Williams and DJ Moore resulted in an interception that ended the Bears’ only overtime possession, as the Rams went on to capitalize on the turnover with a Harrison Mevis 42-yard field goal to end the game and the Bears’ season. Williams thrived in his first season under head coach Ben Johnson, turning in multiple highlight-reel throws will pulling off an NFL record seven comeback wins. His final regular season line of 3,942-27-7 set new career highs, and he added another 77-388-3 on the ground. With plenty of young weapons already locked in for next season, Williams should continue to improve in 2026 with another year of experience under his belt and more time to learn under Johnson.

The Rams’ offense struggled to get going in the wintry conditions at Soldier Field, but a solid defensive effort kept the game within reach and gave the Rams plenty of chances to pull out the win. Despite not throwing a touchdown pass in this one, Stafford did his part to keep the offense on schedule, coming up with multiple big gains through the air on the Rams’ two touchdown drives that both ended with Kyren Williams finding the end zone. Stafford saw two sack fumbles take favorable bounces into the hands of Rams players to keep his turnover total to zero on the day, and will now look to pull off a third-straight road win against the Seahawks next week for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

After a two-year stint with the Texans from 2023 to 2024, PFF Bobby spent last season as the Dolphins’ passing game coordinator. Slowik burst on the scene with the Texans in 2023, leading the team to a 13th-ranked finish in points while also finishing 12th in total yards. He was fired following the 2024 season after the offense took a major step back and CJ Stroud regressed in his sophomore season, but Slowik is yet another branch of the Shanahan coaching tree, and should eventually earn another look as an offensive coordinator after some time off. The Eagles are the first team to request an interview, but it wouldn’t be surprising if more teams followed suit in the coming days.