LA Rams’ quarterback Matthew Stafford is preparing for Sunday’s NFC clash against the Chicago Bears in sunny and warm conditions of Woodland Hills. Soldier Stadium, on the other hand, is expected to have a temperature of around 10 degrees with 20 mph wind gusts making it feel like four degrees. While Stafford is optimistic about his approach, NFL legend Tom Brady, who built much of his playoff legacy in brutal New England winters, has a reality check for the QB.

“Matt did play in Detroit for a long time, and in that division, he did go outside to Chicago and Green Bay. It’s not like he hasn’t played in it,” Brady told The Herd host Colin Cowherd yesterday on the NFL on FOX. “But I will say when I went to Tampa after my time in New England, it didn’t take me very long to get very soft into the cold weather.

“We ended up going to Green Bay in the NFC championship game my first year, and very, fortunately, the game wasn’t that cold. It was like 32-34 degrees at kickoff. It wasn’t -9 that is really cold. And that’s a big advantage for Chicago.”

The Bears don’t just bring a home advantage, but also an elemental advantage. They have been tackling cold weather for at least six weeks now, which started with their game at Green Bay in Week 14, where the temperatures fell below 16 degrees. Since then, they’ve played four home games, albeit not all in cold weather, winning in three, including last Saturday’s 31-27 wild-card win over the Packers.

On the other hand, the Rams won their wild-card matchup in North Carolina with the temperature well above 72 degrees. Moreover, being from Los Angeles, the Rams could very well be walking into a weather disaster. That’s the very reason why Chicago pushed hard to earn the No. 2 seed for a reason: Soldier Field in January can be ruthless.

For teams like the Rams, who thrive on a high-powered passing attack, that is brutal. Cold air, slick turf, and swirling winds can turn even the best offenses uncomfortable, even if it’s the Rams’ tenth-ranked offense. Moreover, the cold can immobilize the muscles and render motor skills worthless, something QBs require to throw. For one, Tom Brady would know.

He spent most of his career in New England and has regularly played meaningful games in sub-freezing temperatures. So, while they had an indoor facility, Bill Belichick’s philosophy was simple: embrace the discomfort. While Tom Brady admitted that Belichick made it a norm to play outdoors in the cold, the results speak for themselves.

Brady went 35-8 in games played at 32 degrees or colder. Tom Brady even won the coldest game in Patriots history on January 10, 2004, against the Tennessee Titans, leading a 17-14 Divisional playoff victory. And who could forget the snow game in 2010, when the Patriots demolished the Bears 36-7 behind Brady’s 369 yards and two touchdowns?

Now, more than 15 years later, Stafford is hoping for a similarly successful trip to Chicago, but it won’t be that easy. Historically, those conditions haven’t always been kind to Stafford.

What can go wrong or right for Stafford and the Rams?

Matthew Stafford spent the first 12 years of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions, which meant plenty of trips to cold cities like Chicago and Green Bay. However, a lot of those games came in domes or controlled environments for Stafford. Now, he plays in SoFi Stadium, where the weather is rarely a factor. Additionally, his high school in Texas and college in Georgia also don’t exactly scream cold temperatures. But here are the worst stats to go with those facts:

• Stafford holds a 1-9 record in cold, rainy, or snowy conditions since moving to Southern California.
• Overall, he is 7-11 in games played under 40 degrees.
•  Stafford’s completion percentage typically drops to 55 percent when the temperature falls below 20 degrees.
• He has a 5-7 record against the Bears at Soldier Field.
• He also suffered a sprained right index finger on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers. While he still passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception, in the 34-31 wild-card victory, the cold temperature can affect pain resistance.
• In freezing conditions specifically, he has a 3-3 record with 1,519 yards, 15 touchdowns, and three interceptions.

The one good thing for Stafford could be the fact that the Bears’ defense isn’t the best, with PFF ranking them 23rd in the league. They rank poorly in most statistical categories and gave up 24.4 points and 361.8 yards per game, which ranked 23rd and 28th, respectively, in the league during the regular season. Moreover, they were 27th in rushing defense (134.5 yards per game) and 22nd in pass defense (227.2). However, that, too, comes with one hurdle.

The Bears’ defense led the NFL with 23 interceptions and recovered 10 fumbles. Meanwhile, in freezing temperatures, handling the ball would be an issue for the entire Rams team, not just Stafford. But the QB remains positive:

“We don’t care what the weather is here, what it is there,” Stafford said Wednesday. “Just go play.”

While head coach Sean McVay joked about everyone seeing them get the “biggest cold plunge ever,” he understands how the win could take them one step closer to the Super Bowl. For that, the team has already prepared its strategies.

Will Matthew Stafford follow Brady’s lead when facing the Bears?

Chicago is bringing a special elemental card with the weather taking its side. Moreover, Chicago has already played three games in freezing temperatures this season, including their last game in Cleveland. So, as Tom Brady and Stafford believe, preparation can make all the difference when heading into a cold-weather game.

During his time in New England, not only did Brady and Co. practice in the punishing cold to acclimate their bodies, but the QB had a special trick in his sleeve: a wetsuit.

As revealed by his former teammate once, Brady would wear a wetsuit under his uniform and sit in the locker room to prepare himself for the freezing temperature. Matthew Stafford, for his part, has his own solution, perhaps inspired by Tom Brady.

Dating back to his Detroit days, he’s worn a scuba suit under his uniform in cold games, and he plans to bring it back in Chicago. Moreover, even head coach McVay is on the secret plan. 

“I think so [it’s fun],” Matthew Stafford told reporters in a presser on January 14. “That feels right when football’s outdoors, you’re playing it late in the year, it’s cold, it means a lot. So I’m embracing it, I know our team is as well.”

The scuba suit is designed to keep Stafford warm without limiting movement, so he doesn’t believe it will affect his performance at all. Besides, the Rams aren’t exactly limping into this playoff game. They have the league’s top-ranked offense, led by an MVP-caliber QB who threw for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions in the 2025 regular season.

Still, as the weather could become Chicago’s greatest weapon, Stafford will have to prove that his talent and preparation can overcome the cold and also avenge the Rams’ loss from their last playoff game in the 1986 NFC Championship clash.

The Bears will host the Rams on Sunday, with kickoff from Soldier Field scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT.