Getty
Quarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are one of three teams remaining in the NFC playoff field, but circumstances are not perfect heading into the Divisional Round game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 18.
Chicago is a 3.5-point underdog less than 24 hours ahead of kickoff at Soldier Field, but even if the Bears can scratch out a victory over the NFL’s top-ranked offense, this game will be the last the team plays in the Windy City until the 2026 regular season.
One way or another, the #Bears will be playing their final game at Soldier Field for the season tomorrow.
With a win, they’ll go to Seattle. With a loss, well… The season is done.
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) January 18, 2026
“One way or another, the #Bears will be playing their final game at Soldier Field for the season tomorrow,” Aaron Leming posted to X. “With a win, they’ll go to Seattle. With a loss, well… The season is done.”
Chicago Weather Arguably Affords Bears Greatest Home-Field Advantage Remaining in Playoffs
Quarterback Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks hammered the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 41-6 on Saturday night to advance to the title game. The Seahawks won the NFC in the regular season with a record of 14-3 and guaranteed themselves home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Meanwhile, Chicago went 11-6 on the year and earned the No. 2 seed. The Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round last weekend and now get the Rams at Soldier Field after winning in electric comeback fashion over Green Bay, erasing an 18-point deficit in the second half.
The Bears entered the postseason knowing that if they won twice and earned a spot in the NFC Championship Game, they would get to host it if any team other than Seahawks advanced to the title matchup. That could have proven meaningful for the Bears, who went 6-2 at home during the year while posting a 5-4 mark on the road.
Seattle plays outdoors at Lumen Field, but the Pacific Northwest doesn’t have nearly the same kind of rigid weather that is common in Chicago during the month of January.
There is obviously no guarantee that the Bears best the Rams and move into the conference championship game, but looking ahead, playing the Seahawks at home would likely provide Chicago a better chance to earn its first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1985-86 campaign.
NFC Championship Game Set for Lumen Field in Seattle on Sunday, January 25
GettyChicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
Chicago and Los Angeles kickoff at Soldier Field at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday night. The game will air on NBC and stream on Peacock. The weather forecast projects a temperature of 18 degrees (feels like 5 degrees) with winds of 11 mph and a 38 percent chance of snow showers.
The winner of the Bears-Rams Divisional Round contest will take on the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday night, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox for the right to play in the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, February 8.
The Denver Broncos held off the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night to advance to the AFC Championship Game and will play the winner between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots on Sunday. That game will precede Chicago-Los Angeles at 3 p.m. ET. It will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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