The Los Angeles Rams have advanced to the divisional round after defeating the Carolina Panthers 34-31 in the wild-card round.
It was a closer game than many fans anticipated, and there was a major injury scare surrounding quarterback Matthew Stafford as he appeared to suffer a finger injury during the game. Fortunately, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed that X-rays on Stafford’s injury came back negative, which should clear him for next week’s matchup.
“X-rays were negative, did not suffer a dislocation, so really just got it bent back really bad,” Rapoport added of Stafford’s finger injury.
That said, here’s everything you need to know about the Rams’ playoff schedule.
Rams’ Next Opponent: Who Will Los Angeles Play in the NFL Divisional Round?
Unfortunately for the Rams, they once again will have to travel on the road. This time, Los Angeles will head to Chicago to take on the Bears. The last time these two teams met was in Week 4 of the 2023 regular season, where the Bears won 24-18 at Soldier Field.
Kickoff date and time for the Rams-Bears matchup has not been announced yet, but will be updated once posted. The divisional round begins on January 17th, with one game at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 8:15 p.m. Eastern. Two more games follow on January 18th, with one at 3:00 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
For those curious about the other NFC matchup, the San Francisco 49ers will travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
After the divisional round, the AFC Championship will take place on January 25th at 3 p.m., and the NFC Championship will follow at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The Super Bowl is scheduled for February 8th at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Comments After Panthers’ Win
After the game, head coach Sean McVay and Stafford spoke to the media about the win.
“I’m really glad that we had a lot of those moments where we talked about our scars being our strength, and fortunately, we were able to be at our best in those most important moments, and all three phases were collectively involved in that,” McVay said.
As for the final game-winning drive, McVay added that he felt he and Stafford were on the same page and gave Stafford credit for being clutch when it mattered most.
“(I felt) pretty calm (on the last drive),” Stafford said. “Pretty steady. It felt like I was seeing the coverages really well. Guys up front did a hell of a job keeping me clean on the last drive, too, giving me time to click through some progressions.”
As for his finger injury, Stafford added that “it wasn’t pleasant,” but he was able to “throw it decent” and should be ready to go next week.
Now, the Rams will start preparing to face the Bears in enemy territory as they are now one step closer to the Super Bowl.
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