The Los Angeles Rams have been here before.
One year ago, the Rams traveled to Lincoln Financial Field for a frigid divisional round game against the Philadelphia Eagles, ultimately coming up 22 yards short of a potential NFC championship bid as snow blanketed the field.
This Sunday against the Chicago Bears, however, is a different beast. With the potential of single digit temperatures, snow and 10-plus mph winds, The Rams’ divisional matchup could be one of the coldest games in recent NFL history.
Tom Brady told Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd that he expects the cold to be a ‘big advantage’ for the Bears, and that argument makes sense on the surface. But what do the numbers — and the Rams themselves — say about their chances to win this week?
Rams vs. Bears weather forecast
According to The Weather Channel, the high for Sunday in Chicago is predicted to be 18 degrees, with temperatures dropping to two degrees at night with wind gusts of 21 mph. AccuWeather’s ‘RealFeel’ for Sunday night is a predicted minus-13 degrees.
What have the Rams said about the weather?
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is no stranger to playing in the cold spending the first 12 years of his career in the NFC North as a member of the Detroit Lions. He told reporters on Wednesday that ‘there’s something to it,’ when playing in the snow.
‘It feels right when football is outdoors. You’re playing it late in the year. It’s cold. It means a lot,’ Stafford said. ‘So I’m embracing it, I know the team is as well.’
Reflecting on his previous experiences with the cold, Stafford said it’s hard to lump it all together.
‘I think each game is unique,’ he said. ‘You can’t just bunch them all together. I played in Philly back in the day when there was six inches of snow on the ground. I played in other games where it’s just cold and dry. You just have to go figure out what the elements are and how it’s going to affect the ball and go play. We had wind last week, what’s that like? How’s the ball moving when you throw it down the field? All these kinds of things. You figure it out as you go. Each one is its own unique set of circumstances.’
Davante Adams will also be returning to familiar territory as a longtime Green Bay Packers player. He told reporters that there isn’t much advice he can give to his teammates in L.A., where it’s been 70 degrees all week.
‘It’s pretty self-explanatory, I mean it’s gonna be cold,’ he said. ‘… It is what it is. It’s gonna be freezing out there, you just gotta figure it out.’
Head coach Sean McVay jokingly mentioned that he’ll have the whole team get in a giant cold plunge for three hours to prepare, but the focus and gameplan remain the same regardless of the weather.
‘We’re not gonna sit here and waste our emotional energy on things that we can’t control. I don’t have a weather machine,’ McVay said. ‘… We talk about mental toughness all the time and really, controlling the things that we can control. Let’s be present in that three-and-a-half-hour window, let’s control the things that we can control.’
Rams stats in cold weather games
The Rams did have some success in last year’s playoff game in Philly, with Stafford throwing for 324 yards and two touchdowns and running back Kyren Williams adding 105 yards on the ground. That game however, was played in 34-degree weather. The snowfall was heavy, but it wasn’t nearly as cold as it’s projected to be this Sunday in Chicago.
In the Sean McVay era, the Rams are 2-2 in games played at freezing temperatures with wins against the Denver Broncos in 2018 and New York Jets last season, and losses against the Bears in 2018 and Packers in 2022.
The Bears, meanwhile, are 2-1 this season in games where the temperature at kickoff was 32 degrees or below.
In Stafford’s six career games played in freezing conditions, he’s thrown for 1,519 yards with 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Stafford also played a part in ‘the Blizzard Bowl,’ a Week 14 game between the Lions and Eagles in 2013. While his stat line that day wasn’t anything particularly memorable — he completed just 10 of 15 passing attempts for 151 yards and no touchdowns — he was responsible for one of the most iconic plays in the career of Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson.
As flurries of snow came down in the first quarter, Stafford stood tall in the pocket and split the safeties to find Johnson streaking down the middle of the field. Eagles cornerback Cary Williams immediately dragged Johnson down face-first, and he got back up with ‘a face full of snow.’
All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.
