Bears’ second round playoff matchup is official, setting the stage for Caleb Williams to go head-to-head against one of his idols
The Chicago Bears will host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round.
The Chicago Bears advanced to the second round of the NFC playoffs on Saturday after defeating the Green Bay Packers with another thrilling fourth quarter comeback and now we know who the next opponent will be coming to Soldier Field.
The Bears will be hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, meaning the two teams will be getting the extra day of rest after each playing last Saturday.
The Rams took down the Carolina Panthers in the wild card round, 34-31, led by a game-winning touchdown of their own by quarterback Matthew Stafford. Seeing quarterback Caleb Williams go head-to-head against Stafford once again this weekend will be exciting to watch.
Caleb Williams has a lot of respect for Matthew Stafford going into second head-to-head matchup
The Bears and Rams last faced off during the 2024 season in Week 4 at Soldier Field during Williams’ rookie year. Chicago ultimately won that game, 24-18, after the Bears defense forced Stafford into two turnovers and allowed zero passing touchdowns.
Ahead of that rookie season, Williams singled-out Stafford as one of his top football idols and gave high praise for the future Hall of Fame quarterback and potential 2025 MVP.
“I don’t think I could name three quarterbacks that play the position better than Matthew Stafford,” Williams said in Aug. 2024. “Matthew is Top-2 in the league. I’ll give him his respect, I watch his game and try to mimic things and get after it.”
In his 17th career season, Stafford is still playing at a ridiculously high level after leading the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns during the regular season, while making plays few quarterbacks could even dream of on a weekly basis.
“When he played for Detroit, I enjoyed watching him. I was younger and I didn’t really understand, then I got older and older, and I started to understand his game. He’s unbelievable,” Williams added. “Like there’s a couple plays where he’ll get a play-action and he has the [linebacker] on a string. If he wants the backer to go here, he’ll go there and he’ll throw it right behind his head at the perfect touch and perfect velocity.”
Going into his second season, and first year under head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears used Stafford as the perfect example for Williams to model his leadership traits and play style off of. A few weeks back, Williams brought up Stafford unprompted when asked about how few interceptions he’s thrown and what the secret behind that ability is.
“I think I heard Matthew Stafford say this once… you throw it hard enough, typically the defensive backs can’t catch it,” Williams explained.
Clearly, Williams has a lot of admiration for Stafford and the legendary career he’s been able to put together in the league. And now Williams gets a chance to potentially end Stafford’s season and take down his top idol in a head-to-head playoff matchup.
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