The Los Angeles Rams beat the Chicago Bears in an overtime thriller, one filled with stunning plays from Caleb Williams and great, timely plays from the Rams' defense.
Offensively for the Rams, Matthew Stafford struggled in a major way. It was one of the worst games he's had in some time, and getting the win was a miracle on its own based on how he played.
OptaSTATS shared one statistic that highlighted just how improbable this win was for Stafford and the Rams. Since the 1970 merger, out of 100 similar games, no quarterback has ever won, until now.
Rams' Matthew Stafford makes NFL history with win despite bad stats
"Matthew Stafford is the only NFL QB since the 1970 merger to: throw 40+ passes, complete under 50% of his throws, throw for 0 TDs in a road start and yet still win (reg or post)." OptaSTATS shared. "QBs had been a combined 0-99-1 in road starts since the merger when doing that."
Stafford's final line was 20-of-42 for 258 yards and no touchdowns, and no interceptions. While it wasn't a good game from Stafford, he did just enough to get the Rams the win.
Thanks to Williams throwing three interceptions, including one in overtime, the Rams were able to beat the Bears despite the poor play from Stafford and the offense.
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The Rams are moving on to the NFC Championship against the Seattle Seahawks, and Stafford will need to play better than he did against the Bears.
Fortunately, it shouldn't be close to as cold as it was in Chicago in Seattle. While the Seahawks' defense is better, the Rams have experience against their defense and should be able to compete with the Seahawks for a trip to the Super Bowl.
But the Rams will need more from Stafford. They overcame his struggles in this Bears game, making NFL history in the process. Beating Seattle with this kind of production isn't likely, meaning more will have to be on Stafford's plate next week.
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