The Los Angeles Rams were 3.5 point favorites to beat the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the 2025 playoffs, but needed overtime to sneak past them and into the NFC Championship game. The Bears gave the Rams all they could handle in 19-degrees weather, but it's a game that Chicago head coach Ben Johnson still thinks he should have won.
It's a loss that's been bothering Johnson all year, admitting that he didn't understand how big of an advantage homefield would be for the Bears and that he didn't have as good of a gameplan as Sean McVay.
In a wide-ranging behind-the-scenes look with the Bears head coach, The Athletic's Dan Pompei details some of the decisions that have haunted Johnson over the last eight months .
He also wants to spend more time on game management, partly because of how he handled the Bears' 20-17 overtime loss to the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
"I kick myself when I think about that game," he says.
Given his respect for Rams coach Sean McVay, MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford and the top-scoring offense in the NFL, Johnson anticipated a shootout. He was mentally unprepared to downshift to a more conservative attack to account for 25-mph winds, a wind chill of four below and snow. He regrets not attempting a field goal in the first quarter on fourth-and-2 from the Rams' 21. Williams was intercepted on the play.
"I should have changed the mindset," he says. "I know now that the power of Soldier Field, particularly at that time of year, is a real thing. And it should be a major advantage for us, provided we recognize it and play with a certain style."
Only two minutes into the game, the Bears had driven to L.A.'s 21-yard line, largely aided by a 34-yard catch and run by Chicago receiver D.J. Moore.
Perhaps little did Johnson know that big plays like that would be hard to come by over the rest of regulation and overtime.
Johnson called a Caleb Williams passing play on fourth-and-2, resulting in an interception by Cobie Durant that was returned for 14 yards. (A pass Durant maybe should have let fall incomplete.)
The Rams then ran a 14-play drive, including 10 passes by Matthew Stafford, capped off with a Kyren Williams touchdown run.
The Bears answered with a touchdown drive of their own, but neither team would score a touchdown again until Williams' scored again in the fourth quarter. Chicago needed a miraculous fourth down touchdown pass by Williams with :18 seconds left to force overtime.
But what if Johnson had attempted that field goal to start the game instead?
It's a decision that's been bothering Johnson for months. Will he do something differently if the Bears face the Rams in the playoffs again? He'd like to find out.
