Bears tied with Rams at halftime of divisional round playoff game
One week after taking an 18-point deficit into the locker room at halftime, the Bears are tied at 10 with the Rams after two quarters Sunday night at a snowy Soldier Field.
Cairo Santos made a 48-yard field goal off with 1:10 to play in the first half of the divisional playoff game to take a 10-7 lead against the Rams. Harrison Mevis countered with a 32-yard field goal as time expired, aided by Gervon Dexter's unsportsmanlike penalty that moved the Rams closer to the end zone.
Quarterback Caleb Williams has gone 13-for-19 for 155 yards, one interception and one touchdown. Counterpart Matthew Stafford, the presumptive NFL MVP, is 12-for-24 for 144 yards. He's been sacked three times by a Bears defensive line that looks more vicious than it did last week against the Packers.
The Bears moved quickly on their first drive of the game but Rome Odunze dropped a pass at the goal line that likely would have been a 23-yard touchdown. On third down, the Bears ran for two yards. On fourth-and-2, Williams threw high of tight end Colston Loveland and was intercepted by a sliding cornerback Cobie Durant at the 1. He returned the ball to the 15.
The Rams moved methodically down the field, converting two third downs and totaling a whopping 14 plays and 6:33. Kyren Williams scored on a four-yard run.
The Bears took 6:25 to score on their own 80-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 23-yard pass from Williams to Loveland after the Rams jumped offside. On fourth-and-goal from the 3, Williams backpedaled and, after seeing his first two options covered, threw a touchdown pass to DJ Moore on a crossing route. That tied the game on the first play of the second quarter.
With about five minutes to play, the Bears failed to get a yard on either third-and-one or fourth-and-one, running D’Andre Swift and then Kyle Monangai into a wall of Rams linemen. They forced a three-and-out when Kyler Gordon recorded the Bears’ third sack of the game, leading to the Santos field goal.
Before kickoff, the Bears made left tackle Braxton Jones inactive mere days after taking off injured reserve. Left guard Joe Thuney moved from leftt guard to left tackle and Jordan McFadden made his first start of the season in Thuney's place.
The Bears had three different starting left tackles this season, including Ozzy Trapilo, who was put on injured reserve last week after hurting his knee against the Packers. Coach Ben Johnson opted against starting either Jones or Theo Benedet at left tackle,
The Bears ruled out third-string quarterback Case Keenum, receiver Jahdae Walker, cornerback Nick McCloud, linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Tryon-Shoyinka was recovering from a concussion and McCloud has a groin injury.