The Rams and Bears will be playing in winter weather on Sunday night at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The current forecast for kickoff is a temperature of 19 degrees, wind gusts of 20 miles per hour and a 45 percent chance of snow.
Both teams’ coaches have said this week that they’re preparing for the winter weather.
Bears coach Ben Johnson says he likes the cold and that it could be a rude awakening for the opponents from Los Angeles, although Johnson acknowledged that Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has plenty of experience in the cold.
“I do know this will be the coldest game that they’ve played this year,” Johnson said. “That’s something I recognized when we found out who the opponent was. But I think Matthew Stafford has played well in cold games in his past, I don’t know how much of an advantage that gives you over their passing game necessarily. There’s a lot of elements that go into a game like this.”
Rams coach Sean McVay noted that the Rams played in bad weather in two games last season, against the Eagles and Jets, and the weather didn’t hurt them.
“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.”
Rams pass rusher Jared Verse says that even if he doesn’t sack Caleb Williams on Sunday, he needs to get enough contact with him to disrupt his throws.
Verse said that simply grabbing Williams’ jersey or diving for his legs isn’t going to be enough, because Williams is too good at throwing under pressure. What Verse and his teammates want to do is make contact with Williams’ arm to prevent him from getting an accurate throw off.
“You’ve got to keep rushing, you’ve got to keep running, and once you get your hands around him, you can’t fully grab him, aim for his arm,” Verse said. “You have to aim for his arm, try to mess his throw up a little bit. It can’t just be like getting him off the spot. Running quarterbacks, even if they’re off the spot, they’re still liable to make any type of play.”
Verse said the Rams won’t be afraid of Williams using his mobility to step up and run past the pass rush.
“We don’t rush scared. We rush very alive,” Verse said. “I have the liberty to make a good play.”
And Verse wants to make sure Williams is not free to make good plays, with his arm or with his legs.
As the Bears prepare to play a significant postseason game in their longtime home of Soldier Field, the process of finding a new home continues.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, an Indiana senator has introduced a bill that would establish the funding mechanism for a stadium on the other side of the Illinois state line.
The expansion of the potential universe of locations to include Indiana happened after the Bears encountered chronic difficulty when it comes to getting sufficient governmental support of a new stadium in Illinois.
The development comes of the heels of Commissioner Roger Goodell touring multiple potential stadium sites, including the Arlington Heights property that the Bears own and two different potential locations in Northwest Indiana.
With relocation out of Chicago not an option, the Bears have created (intentionally or not) a two-state competition for the team, like the Chiefs did between Missouri and Kansas. In that case, Kansas apparently has won. For now, there’s at least a chance Indiana will wrest the Bears away from Illinois.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford remains on track to play against the Bears on Sunday, but there’s some uncertainty about his backup.
Stafford was a full participant in practice for the second straight day on Thursday and he’s said multiple times this week that his right finger injury won’t interfere with his availability this weekend.
Jimmy Garoppolo was added to the injury report on Thursday because of a back injury. Garoppolo did not participate in practice and his absence on Sunday would leave Stetson Bennett as the backup to Stafford.
Right guard Kevin Dotson (ankle) was the team’s only limited participant. Cornerback Darious Williams (personal), defensive tackle Poona Ford (elbow), wide receiver Xavier Smith (wrist), cornerback Josh Wallace (ankle), tight end Terrance Ferguson (hamstring), safety Quentin Lake (foot), and wide receiver Jordan Whittington (knee) were all full participants.
Bears wide receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze remained limited participants at Bears practice on Thursday.
Moore is dealing with a knee injury while Odunze continues to work through the foot injury that sidelined him for the final weeks of the regular season. Odunze returned last Saturday and had two catches for 44 yards, including a 27-yarder on a remarkable fourth down throw by quarterback Caleb Williams in the fourth quarter. Moore had six catches for 64 yards, including the game-winning touchdown.
Cornerback Nick McCloud (groin) was the only player out of practice for the second straight day.
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (back) moved from limited to full participation. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion), tackle Braxton Jones (knee), linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (concussion), and defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (concussion) remained full participants.
