Bears coach Ben Johnson: 'Shame' to waste great defensive performance in 20-17 playoff loss to Rams

The Bears’ defense, a group battered by injuries and unsteady play, delivered arguably its best performance of the season Sunday against the Rams in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

It wasn’t enough, however, as quarterback Matthew Stafford led a drive for a field goal in overtime to lift the Rams to a 20-17 victory and end the Bears’ season.

The defense had struggled to get a consistent pass rush or to stop the run, but it did reasonably well at both against the NFL’s No. 1 offense. The Bears held the Rams below their league-leading averages of 30 points and 394 yards per game in the regular season.

“That’s part of the shame of it: Our defense played their tails off,” coach Ben Johnson said. “They really did. [The Rams] have weapons all over the place ... and our guys played hard throughout that game and had us in it the whole time.”

The defense was all over Stafford, the favorite to win NFL MVP, from the start. He finished with one of his worst lines of the season at 20-for-42 for 258 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and a 67.4 passer rating.

Defensive end Montez Sweat sacked Stafford and knocked the ball loose in the middle of the second quarter, and safety Jaquan Brisker sacked him on a blitz two plays later. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon got Stafford later in the quarter, and defensive end Dominique Robinson sacked him in the third.

The four sacks were the second-most by the Bears this season, trailing only their five against the Browns last month.

The defense also held its own against Rams running back Kyren Williams, who carried 19 times for 78 yards and two touchdowns but averaged only 4.1 yards per carry. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry, which was eighth in the NFL, during the regular season.

The Bears forced a punt on eight of the Rams’ 12 full possessions. Brisker led the team with 14 tackles, followed by linebackers D’Marco Jackson and Tremaine Edmunds with seven each.