Chicago Bears vs Los Angeles Rams odds, predictions, and betting tips – Bears eye first Championship Game in 15 years

The Chicago Bears have been celebrating a first playoff win since 2011 after dramatically defeating the Green Bay Packers last week. They now face a Los Angeles Rams team with even more recent postseason pedigree, aiming to put themselves within one game of a first Super Bowl in 30 years.

The Rams represent another step up in difficulty – they’re led by the bookies’ favourite for MVP in Matt Stafford. The league-leading touchdown passer has already been there and done it – and got the ring to show for it.  

He needed to use all of that know-how to overcome a spirited Carolina Panthers outfit – and an injured finger – in the Wild Card Round.

Needing a touchdown with just over two minutes to go, he drove the Rams down the field with ease, a sequence which culminated in Colby Parkinson superbly catching and manoeuvring his way to the end zone for the winning score.

The Bears also had to dig deep to get the better of their historic NFC North rivals – very deep. Ben Johnson’s team trailed 21-6 at the start of the fourth quarter and even when they reduced the deficit to 21-16, the Packers replied with another touchdown to make it 27-16 with around six and a half minutes to go.

Caleb Williams came up clutch finding Olamide Zaccheaus in the end zone just over two minutes later, before hitting DJ Moore down the sideline for the go-ahead score.

The defence held on in the remaining seconds to secure the Bears’ first back-to-back victories over the Packers since 2007, and end the Green and Gold’s season.

Bears vs Rams best bets

• Over 13.5 carries for Kyren Williams – 5/6 with BetMGM
• Matthew Stafford to throw an interception – Evens with BetMGM
• Golden Combo: Puka Nacua and Colston Loveland to each score a touchdown – 4/1 with BetMGM

Chicago is a step up in competition for the Rams too. While the transformation of the offence under coach Johnson, and the leap in Williams’ play in year two of his career, has rightly been lauded, the defence has also made vital contributions and helped the team play complementary football.

The headline statistic is their 23 interceptions – the most in the NFL. They’ve also forced 12 fumbles, recovering eight, and have caused nine rushing fumbles from opposition runners – the joint third-best number in the league.

The Bears are very much a franchise with defence in their DNA. The legendary 1985 Buddy Ryan unit carried them to their one and only Super Bowl victory in 1985. 

Bears vs Rams preview

It took a while for this year’s Bears to win over the naysayers, but they’ve grown as the season has gone on.

They required a number of fortuitous breaks to eke out wins against some of the league’s lesser lights, leaving it late – sometimes the last play – to defeat the likes of the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.

The Rams, meanwhile, looked like the class of the NFC for a while, until defeats late in the season in Seattle and then Atlanta cost them the NFC West title and the number 1 seed.

They looked particularly impressive during a five-week stretch from mid-October to late November, when they destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley and turned over both of their closest rivals in the division. 

Despite wobbling towards the end of the season, and during spells of the Panthers game, that big play capability was still there when they needed it and they’re a tough team to go up against in a shootout. The Bears will need to muddy the game and give their fans plenty of opportunities to turn up the volume.

Bears vs Rams betting tips

Find the latest odds for the Chicago Bears vs Los Angeles Rams courtesy of BetMGM. Odds are subject to change.

The Rams are being given the edge by just over a field goal to win back-to-back road games in the playoffs. It’s their seventh postseason campaign in nine seasons under coach Sean McVay and, after last Saturday’s win, are 9-5 in those games. They know how to get it done when the lights shine brightest. 

While the Bears have passed all the tests thrown at them so far, they are quite reminiscent of the Washington Commanders of last season – a young, vibrant and exciting but not yet complete roster who don’t quite have enough to go all the way. 

Despite their first round win and holding the number two seed – meaning they’d host the NFC Championship game if the San Francisco 49ers were to win in Seattle –  they have the second-longest odds to win the Super Bowl.

It should be a high-scoring, back-and-forth battle similar to the games which both won to get here. The winning team may need to hit the 30-point mark again, and therefore I’d lean over on the points total.

Stafford to get caught in a Bear trap

Matt Stafford will be good to go this week after hitting a finger in his throwing hand against the helmet of a Panthers player in the first half of Saturday’s game.

He soldiered on, and eventually led a game-winning drive, but his discomfort was obvious and he threw an interception late in the third quarter. 

The MVP frontrunner is known to be something of a gunslinger who trusts his receivers and, more often than not, the high-scoring results speak for themselves.

With that, however, does come the odd turnover. Last week was his ninth in total for the season, which is actually low by his standards. Only five times in his seventeen regular seasons in the league has he kept his picks in the single digits.  

He’s going up against a Bears passing defence which has intercepted opposition quarterbacks 23 times and will fancy their chances of adding to that number if Stafford is in more pain than he’s letting on – or if he takes another hit.

X-rays showed no serious damage had been done and Stafford said during the week he is “not worried at all” about it. 

Still though, if it leads to just one wobbly or undercooked pass, that may be all this opportunistic Bears defence needs to cash in with a takeaway. 

Bet on Matt Stafford throwing an interception against the Bears at Evens with BetMGM

Rams to have success on the ground, Williams to get carries

The Rams have one of the more 50/50 backfield pairings in the league with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. Of the two, Williams is still the primary option – he carried the ball 259 times in the regular season compared to Corum’s 145. 

He also never had fewer than 12 rushes in a single game. In fact, he had exactly 12 on four occasions and 13 on five occasions – six if you include the Wild Card game in Charlotte. His over/under line of 13.5, therefore, is very much in the sweet spot. 

For this game, I would expect the Rams to carry the more consistent threat in each offensive drive and start each of them either leading or attempting to take the lead.

I feel they’ll be able to stay balanced between running and passing more than the Bears – and they would be wise to do so, bearing the previous tip in mind.

While throwing the ball against the Bears can be risky, their run defence could be a weakness to exploit.

They gave up 2,287 yards on the ground – the sixth most in the NFL – at an average of five yards per carry, the fourth worst rate. They also made the seventh fewest tackles.

I would therefore back Williams to get just one or two more touches than usual, and the Rams to cut down on the number of passing plays ever so slightly.

Tip Kyren Williams to be given over 13.5 carries against the Bears at 5/6 with BetMGM

Back the hot hands, on both sides

One of the BetMGM Golden Combos for this game involves backing the two most targeted pass catchers on Wild Card Weekend to score touchdowns. 

18 of the 42 throws Matt Stafford made against the Panthers were aimed at Puka Nacua, who caught 10 of them for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile for Chicago, rookie tight end Colston Loveland was the go-to weapon for Caleb Williams – 15 of his 48 pass attempts went in his direction – more than double the looks anyone else got. He caught eight of them for 137 yards.

Nacua is, without doubt, among the league’s elite offensive players. He caught more passes (129) than anyone else during the regular season and came second in receiving yards only to Jaxon Smith-Njigba of Seattle. Nacua racked up 1,715, Smith-Njigba totalled 1,793, and both finished with ten touchdowns.

Loveland’s stock is sharply rising at his position too. His involvement towards the end of the regular season increased exponentially – the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft gained double-digit targets for the first time in weeks 17 and 18, scoring touchdowns in both games. In total, he has caught 24 passes in the last three weeks – he had 42 up until then.

With both players being such a huge focal point for their respective offences, taking this combined bet at 4/1 makes a lot of sense to me.

Back Puka Nacua and Colston Loveland to score touchdowns at 4/1 with BetMGM’s Golden Combo

Bears vs Rams injury report 

Here are all the notable outs and doubts ahead of this Divisional Round matchup:

Chicago Bears

• Out: T.J. Edwards (linebacker) lower leg, Dayo Odeyingbo (edge rusher) – achilles, Noah Sewell (linebacker) – achilles, Shemar Turner (defensive tackle) – knee, Ozzy Trapilo (offensive tackle) – knee.
• Questionable: DJ Moore (wide receiver) – knee, Rome Odunze (wide receiver) – foot, C.J. Gardner-Johnson (safety) – concussion, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (edge rusher) – concussion, Andrew Billings (defensive tackle) – hip, Jalen Reeves-Maybin (linebacker) – shoulder.
• Doubtful: N/A

Los Angeles Rams

• Out: Rob Havenstein (offensive tackle) – ankle, Ahkello Witherspoon (cornerback) – shoulder. 
• Questionable: Poona Ford (defensive tackle) – elbow, Kevin Dotson (offensive guard) – ankle.
• Doubtful: N/A

Bears vs Rams game info

• Date: Sunday 18th January
• Time: 11:30pm GMT
• Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
• Where to watch: Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports NFL

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