The Los Angeles Rams are moving on to the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs after getting the best of the Carolina Panthers on the road at Bank of America Stadium during Wild Card Weekend.
Although the Panthers put up more of a fight than expected, which gave the Rams quite a scare to get the postseason underway, Los Angeles was able to prevail with MVP candidate Matthew Stafford leading the team to victory with yet another come-from-behind victory.
With the Rams moving, the competition gets tougher, as they’ll have to go head-to-head against a very good Chicago Bears squad, led by up-and-coming quarterback Caleb Williams and one of the best head coaches in the league, Ben Johnson.
Sean McVay on Bears HC Ben Johnson
GettyHead coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears
Ahead of a highly anticipated clash between the Rams and Bears at Soldier Field in the Windy City on Sunday, head coach Sean McVay spoke to the media and was asked about what he’s seen from Johnson ahead of their head-to-head matchup.
“I’ve studied him really closely from when he took over and started doing it in Detroit,” McVay said during Monday’s media availability. “I think the guys that do the best job are the ones that you can see there’s a true understanding of what defenses are doing and an intent to try to be able to manipulate a lot of the rules and the coaching points and to really try to attack your front mechanics, your coverage contours, understand some of the percentages of what you’re doing situationally, and then being able to maximize his player skill sets. You could see there’s a philosophy and core beliefs in terms of how he wants to build it.
“You look at the four free agents they signed, you look at the guys that they drafted high up, taking the tight end [Colston Loveland] and in a lot of the instances where he was able to take advantage of [Sam] LaPorta in Detroit.”
Clearly, McVay has a lot of respect for Johnson and what he’s been able to do during his first year in Chicago. The Rams’ leader on the sideline also knows his team has a tough challenge ahead against the Bears on the road.
“I think what shows his flexibility is the ability to have one of the best offenses with a player like Jared [Goff] who’s really special and then being able to have some similar foundational principles with Caleb, but also be able to accentuate the things that make him really unique with the athleticism, the ability to move the spot and then take advantage of their skill around it,” McVay said. “He does a damn good job. I think he’s got a timely feel for wanting to be able to mix in some things like he did with the screen and go that allowed them to take the lead the other day.
“We’re excited about these challenges. This is what it’s about.”
Despite playing on the road and having an underwhelming performance against the Panthers this past weekend, the Rams will head into this playoff showdown with the Bears as the favorites (-3.5), even with Stafford dealing with an injury that hindered his play in the first round.
Sean McVay Shares Thoughts on Caleb Williams
GettyCaleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears
One of the main reasons Johnson’s offense in Chicago has been solid throughout the 2025 campaign is that Williams has taken his game to another level after a less-than-stellar rookie season for a No. 1 overall pick.
McVay pointed out what makes Williams such a difficult quarterback to contain on the gridiron.
“Just playmaking ability,” McVay said of Williams. “His ability to be able to make plays within the pocket, drive the ball to all parts of the field, but then be able to extend plays [and] keep his eyes down the field and be able to make unbelievable throws off platform or create with his legs.”
The Rams’ defense will have its work cut out for it, as a significant key to victory and a trip to the NFC Championship Game will be preventing Williams from doing what he does best.
“He’s going to be a nightmare to defend,” McVay said.
Rams HC Sean McVay Delivers Warning on Bears’ Ben Johnson & Caleb Williams