The NFL previously applied the term “super” to the wild-card round of the playoffs. This year, the ratings were.
Via Sports Business Journal, the six games televised by Fox (which had two), CBS, Prime Video, NBC and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 attracted an average of 31.9 million viewers.
That’s a 13-percent increase from last year, and the best since the NFL expanded the playoffs from six teams to seven in 2020, which grew the wild-card round from four games to six.
The total average is the best since the four-game format attracted an average of 32.6 million in 2016 for these games: Raiders-Texans, Lions-Seahawks, Dolphins-Steelers, and Packers-Giants. The smallest victory margin that year was 13 points, with an average score of 30-11.
This year, four of the games went down to the wire. Two of the games were lopsided.
The weather forecast for Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday night calls for possible snow and temperatures around 20 degrees, and Bears coach Ben Johnson noted that it’s going to be the coldest game the Rams have played in this season. But Rams coach Sean McVay is not concerned.
McVay said the weather in Chicago won’t be as bad as the Rams faced in two games last season, against the Eagles and Jets, and the weather didn’t affect Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s ability to throw the ball in either of those games.
“You know in the cold how the ball feels, but last year was a great example, we had two really cold games,” McVay said. “Matthew’s played in these conditions. So it doesn’t change. There’s a couple things you have to be mindful of, but you start talking about wind, rain, how that affects your footing, we always kind of adjust and adapt. They’ve got to be able to play in those elements — they have a little more experience, but we’re not going to allow that to be an excuse. I think you have to have a feel, but I think the way that our guys play, I think it suits us well in any sorts of conditions.”
McVay said the focus this week isn’t going to be on the weather because the weather is out of their control.
“We’re not going to waste our energy on things we can’t control,” McVay said. “I don’t have a weather machine. We do have a lot of guys that have been accustomed to playing in these types of situations, whether it’s previous teams, where they played their college ball in outdoor stadiums. We talk about mental toughness all the time and controlling the things we can control. Let’s control the things we can control. When you’re not on the field stay warm, and then when you’re out there your adrenaline kicks in. The ball is a little bit slicker, it feels like a rock, but other than that, let’s freakin’ roll.”
After injuring the index finger on his throwing hand during Saturday’s wild-card win over the Panthers, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said of the situation, “It wasn’t great.”
Four days later, that has changed.
“Great,” Stafford told reporters on Wednesday when asked how the finger feels.
He reiterated that he doesn’t believe the cold weather in Chicago on Sunday night will be a factor for the finger. “I think it should be good,” Stafford said.
Stafford said he won’t be wearing anything on the finger during the game at Chicago, and there was no swelling after the opening-round playoff game.
“We did a good job of jumping on it, wrapping it before the plane and all that stuff,” Stafford said. “Whatever was there is gone now. It feels good.”
Stafford was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice. Which is no surprise. Even if Stafford’s finger were amputated, he’d find a way to practice and to play. And to play well.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has a right finger injury that he insisted wouldn’t be a problem. The injury report confirmed that.
Stafford was a full participant on Wednesday’s report as the team began preparations for Sunday’s game against the Bears with a walk-through.
Stafford was 24-of-42 for 304 yards, three touchdowns and one interception against Carolina.
The Rams practiced without cornerback Darious Williams (personal).
Offensive lineman Kevin Dotson (ankle) and nose tackle Poona Ford (elbow) were limited.
Wide receiver Xavier Smith (wrist), cornerback Josh Wallace (ankle), tight end Terrance Ferguson (hamstring) and safety Quentin Lake (foot) were full participants.
In the Bears’ regular-season finale, they had a season-low 65 rushing yards. They weren’t much better last week in the playoffs, with just 93 rushing yards. Bears coach Ben Johnson says that needs to improve.
“It feels like it’s dipped a little bit — not something that we want late in the season,” Johnson said. “We wanted that to pick up in the playoffs, weather games like this, you certainly want to be able to lean on your run game, so those are some elements we’re looking at. What can we do to help ignite that? It’s both efficient runs to stay on track and ahead of the chains and explosive runs as well — where can we find a few of those?”
Johnson said that on Sunday against the Rams, the Bears are facing a good run defense.
“We’ve got a really tough opponent in that regard,” Johnson said. “I think they do a really good job. I think the front is their strength — these guys at the line of scrimmage are really good football players. I think they shed blocks at an elite level. I think they are relentless. I think they are violent across the board, so I have a lot of respect for them and we have to be on our A-game to run it against this crew.”
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Bears’ A-game running the ball. Johnson is focused on changing that on Sunday.
