O’Donnell: Good, better, don’t implode — three easy pieces for Bears over L.A.
PSYCHOLOGISTS MAINTAIN THAT a key part of being a fan is anticipation and that's a good thing.
Whether that good thing extends to the 60,000 or so who will be anticipating pricey nose freeze at Soldier Field late Sunday afternoon remains to be seen (5:30 p.m.; NBC, AM-1000).
As recently as nine weeks ago, the idea of the Bears hosting the cutting-edge Rams in a main event on the NFL divisional weekend marquee seemed about as likely as Pat McAfee opening for Beyoncé.
But whoops there it is. And the icicle built for two is that Ben Johnson would undoubtedly swear by the fact his empowered rangers have a huge chance to win.
THE DRAMATIC FINISHES OF THE BEARS have come to define them. For all of the football theater — and ability to hold TV audiences to the final insurance ad — that's still not the way NFL coaching staffs plot and plan.
Caleb Williams and his crusaders need a most basic rallying mantra to thrive in the frigid air and here it is:
Don't implode.
That's it.
Johnson's “Good. Better. Best?”
Stow that until the next class reunion down in the young coach's native North Carolina.
TOO MANY THINGS ARE FALLING into place for the Bears, who entered the weekend 4½-point underdogs and likely counting.
(A late Sunday surge of money on the homies is the last thing Chicago backers want. It goes beyond deflated plus-points for the Bears and instead touches on the ancient NFL betting axiom that the public is wrong significantly more often than it's right.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD AND THE RAMS are hardly in free fall. But here are some horn chippers from their last 10 days:
· They spent close to 11 hours in the air flying to and from Charlotte for last weekend's dicey 34-31 wild-card win over the Panthers. (And added another 4½ hours getting to ORD this weekend.);
· The LAR have since been practicing in temperatures above 80 degrees at their Woodland Hills (California) base before departing for Chicago Friday; and
· Stafford, the wizardly old QB, was markedly ineffective for a large stretch of the middle game at Carolina, this against an 8-9 Panthers that were 10½-point home underdogs.
THE 37-YEAR-OLD ACE OPENED the game 8-for-8 passing. Then he banged his right pinky on a Carolina helmet and quick residuals defused a strong Los Angeles start.
He had a stretch of 4-for-17 despite a weak Panthers defense and clever “timed” routes primarily involving Puka Nacua — “The Velcro Samoan” — and Davante Adams.
Carolina blocked a L.A punt late — there is the Rams' huge Achilles, special teams — and took a 31-27 lead with 2:38 remaining.
Then Stafford the precisionist kicked back in. With the Panthers hanging in zone coverage like crossing guards in Mayberry, he zipped through a 6-for-7 winning drive, capped by an extraordinarily athletic TD catch by tight end Colby Parkinson.
CONCLUSION:
The Rams are a vaunted outfit who in truth are winning on a thin line. If CAR's Bryce Young knew how to close a game, it would be the Niners in Chicago Sunday rather than L.A. (And the Panthers would have been at Seattle.)
Even Nacua — the league's ultimate bail-out guy this season with 129 catches — couldn't stem Stafford's abrupt erratic play.
Stafford is vulnerable. So are the Rams.
REGARDING THE WEATHER, TOM BRADY MADE an enlightening point to media this week:
“To a quarterback at home under conditions like what's expected Sunday at Soldier Field, there's a definite advantage. You know exactly how many layers (of clothing) you can wear and still maintain peak throwing action and mobility. In an outdoor venue like Chicago, you know where the wind is a trickier factor. You know where on the field your receivers may have more difficult footing to make sharp cuts.
“There's a lot. I always thought we had that kind of extra stuff going for us when teams came into Foxborough for colder games.”
NOW ABOUT BEN JOHNSON, HIS ANTI-PACKERS BURST AND THE BLOW-BY HANDSHAKE with Green Bay's Matt LaFleur last weekend:
Them were fighting words by Johnson, who was fully aware that Mike LaFleur is the LAR offensive coordinator (and the GB coach's younger brother and a former QB himself at West suburban Elmhurst University.)
But as the inimitable Charlie Weis Sr. said during his golden opening at Notre Dame 20 years ago, “You can't go out there and be a bunch of 'fraidy cats.”
“'FRAIDY CATS” AREN'T GOING to defeat the Rams Sunday.
Johnson's words, however vulgar, reflected that attitude.
Nor is a team that implodes.
But the strange magic of the 2025 Bears was never in greater evidence than during the unfathomable final 11 minutes vs. Green Bay.
With a city's enormous anticipation only growing by the temperature drop, why does it all have to stop now?
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.