- - Rams vs. Bears odds, picks, predictions: Best bets for NFL divisional round game

Ben FawkesMatt Russell and Matt JacobJanuary 16, 2026 at 10:12 PM

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The NFC North champion and No. 2-seeded Chicago Bears will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in a divisional round matchup. The Bears trailed 21-3 at halftime against the Green Bay Packers in their wild-card game, but came all the way back to win 31-27. The Rams, as massive 10-point road favorites, came back to beat the feisty Carolina Panthers 34-31.

Is this where the fairy-tale season ends for Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson? Does Matthew Stafford have one more vintage playoff performance in cold weather in him?

Ben Fawkes gathers insight from oddsmakers for the game, and our team of NFL handicappers provides its favorite wagers on Sunday's matchup.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

No. 5 Los Angeles Rams (-3.5, 48.5) at No. 2 Chicago BearsWhat oddsmakers are saying

"We opened Rams -4.5 and this is currently sitting -3.5. Early money has been on the Bears here. A reaction to the Rams looking the way they did against Carolina and being tested, it’s going to be very cold on Sunday night. The big thing we saw on the Bears was on the in-play wagering last week. People weren’t hesitant to jump in on Chicago." — Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata

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"We’ve seen decent one-way action, especially on the moneyline on the Bears. I would assume there will be some Rams money late, but that wasn’t the case last week against Packers. We opened Rams -4, still sitting 4." — Joey Feazel, head of NFL trading at Caesars Sportsbook

Best bets

Matt Jacob: The Rams’ secondary held Carolina quarterback Bryce Young to one scoring pass in last Saturday’s 34-31 last-minute wild-card victory. It was just the second time in seven games that a quarterback failed to throw multiple touchdowns against Los Angeles.

This week Los Angeles is tasked with trying to contain red-hot Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who has thrown exactly two touchdowns in six consecutive games. Those dozen TD passes are among 20 scoring strikes that Williams has racked up in 11 games since the calendar flipped to November. He delivered multiple aerial scores in eight of those outings.

Granted, the weather forecast for Sunday night in the Windy City isn’t exactly quarterback friendly. Still, I banked a winner with this bet last week, and I’m confidently going right back to the well once again.

Bet: Caleb Williams over 1.5 passing TDs (+105)

Matt Russell: The weather might be the best thing Chicago's defense has going for it. Kyler Gordon gutted his way through last Saturday’s game, but he’s not 100%, and the Bears also lost a key piece in the middle of their defense in TJ Edwards. That’s a bad combination against a Rams offense that is happy to work the body.

Whether it’s in the run game, or peppering Puka Nacua and an armada of tight ends over the middle, the Rams should matriculate the ball down the field with ease. As a result, it would be ill-advised to take deep shots through the wind, with ball-hawking safety Kevin Byard (the league’s leader in interceptions) on the back end.

Matthew Stafford may go “over” on all his other props, but a long pass completion would require a combination of a complete coverage breakdown and a tackling debacle that we’ll bet doesn’t happen with teams moving a little slower in the cold.

Bet: Matthew Stafford longest pass completion under 37.5 yards (-115)

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Source: “AOL Sports”