CHICAGO — The Bears will host the Rams next Sunday at Soldier Field in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs after both teams took late-turnaround victories Saturday.
The kickoff time for Sunday's game between the No. 2-seed Bears and the No. 5-seed Rams will be announced on Monday night, according to the Rams website.
In the opener on wild-card weekend, the Rams' Matthew Stafford threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson in the final minute and Los Angeles rallied to beat the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in a game that was much closer than expected.
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The Bears trailed the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime on Saturday and 27-16 with just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before Caleb Williams threw a pair of touchdown passes. His 25-yard TD toss to D.J. Moore put Chicago ahead 31-27 with 1:43 remaining. Then Jordan Love's desperation heave into the end zone from the Bears' 28 was knocked down as time expired to secure Chicago's first playoff win since the 2010 season.
The Rams are back in the divisional round for the second straight season. Last year, they were 13 yards away from eliminating Philadelphia before a sack and an incomplete pass ended their season with a 28-22 loss.
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Next Sunday’s winner will take on the top team in Saturday's Seahawks-49ers matchup for the NFC Championship.
The Bears and the Rams last met during Week 4 of the 2023 season, with the Bears winning 24-18 at Soldier Field, according to the Rams website, which noted that next Sunday’s game will be the teams’ 98th meeting in series history but only their third postseason meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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