Brad Biggs: Bears' big advantage on special teams could be a difference maker vs. Rams

CHICAGO — With Soldier Field shaking ever so slightly during Saturday’s miraculous comeback in the wild-card round against the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears can say with confidence the fourth phase is back.

That’s the term former coach Lovie Smith used about 20 years ago when urging the home crowd to be rowdy (just not when the Bears were on offense). It’s not that the fans ever went away. The team just hadn’t given them something of this magnitude to be excited about.

With the Los Angeles Rams coming in Sunday and a trip to the NFC championship game on the line, it’s also an opportunity for the third phase to make a difference, something Smith was accustomed to seeing regularly as well.

The underdog Bears should have an upper hand on special teams, where hidden yardage and clutch plays can turn a game in a flash. The Rams have been a disaster on special teams — coach Sean McVay fired third-year coordinator Chase Blackburn on Dec. 20 — while the Bears have gotten big plays all season from coordinator Richard Hightower’s unit.

Advantage: Bears.

Against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who will either win MVP honors for his 46-touchdown season or be runner-up to New England Patriots QB Drake Maye, the Bears need every edge they can muster.

“It’s a huge, huge asset in this game because of the elements,” core special teamer Josh Blackwell said. “More or less we feel like we’re a better unit. That’s something we have to take advantage of.”

The Rams punt coverage has been a hot mess. Opponents averaged a league-high 16 yards per return — the second-highest figure in the last 12 seasons behind the 2020 Packers (17.1) — and 11 of the 21 returns against them went for 15 yards or more. A 15-yard punt return is the equivalent of 1 1/2 first downs — a great way to start a possession before the offense takes the field.

Devin Duvernay had punt returns of 37 and 22 yards against the Packers, sparking two scoring drives at the beginning of the Bears rally in the playoff opener.

“Anytime you can return a ball to the opponent’s 35-yard line, you would think that you have points there,” Hightower said. “That was outstanding. Now, what we’re focused on is trying to get the ball in the end zone ’cause that’s the next thing.”

Duvernay also keyed the Nov. 16 comeback at Minnesota with a 56-yard kickoff return with 42 seconds remaining, so he — and an experienced group of blockers in front of him — have delivered in key moments.

Blackwell blocked Daniel Carlson’s 54-yard field-goal attempt with 33 seconds remaining in a Week 4 win in Las Vegas. The Bears won on walk-off field goals at Washington (Jake Moody) and Minnesota (Cairo Santos). Of course, Santos had the tricky onside kick in Week 16 against Green Bay.

So Hightower’s group has been poised in crunch time. It’s like the Bears took all of their major special teams errors, concentrated them in the Week 9 game in Cincinnati, and have steadily improved since.

Not only is Santos dialed in for the nasty conditions at Soldier Field this game will be played in, but he also has gotten more comfortable with an array of “dirty ball” and “knuckle” kickoffs aimed at pinning the opponent inside the 25- or even 20-yard line.

“(Hightower) has been at the forefront of saying how good Cairo is in these situations and this time of year in particular,” coach Ben Johnson said.

Meanwhile, special teams directly led to three of the Rams’ five losses.

— In Week 3 in Philadelphia, Joshua Karty had a 36-yard field goal blocked midway through the fourth quarter. On the final play, with the Eagles leading 27-26, Jordan Davis blocked Karty’s 44-yard attempt and returned it for a touchdown.

— In Week 5, Karty missed a 53-yard field goal in the third quarter and had an extra point blocked in the fourth. The Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers 26-23 in overtime.

After Karty missed a 39-yard field goal and an extra point in Week 9, the Rams made Harrison Mevis their new kicker and replaced long snapper Alex Ward with veteran Jake McQuaide, who was briefly on the Bears practice squad last season when Scott Daly had a knee injury.

— In Week 16, Seattle’s Rashid Shaheed sparked a comeback from a 30-14 deficit to the Rams with a 58-yard punt-return touchdown in the fourth quarter. Mevis missed a 48-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in regulation, and the Seahawks won 38-37 in overtime.

The Rams almost were sent packing in the wild-card round by the Carolina Panthers (8-9). Ethan Evans had a punt blocked with 4:12 remaining that set up the Panthers for a go-ahead touchdown. In the end, Stafford was there to save the Rams.

Rookie linebacker Shaun Dolac, easily Los Angeles’ leader with 18 special teams tackles, was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in Week 18. The Rams had only one other player with more than six special teams tackles, although it’s notable that they led the NFL in kickoff coverage, largely because Karty was good at dirty kickoffs before being released.

It’s a situation in which the Bears have to identify the weak links and attack them. It would help if the struggling third-down defense can get off the field and force a few extra punts by Evans. But really it’s about playing the matchup game and finding a way to isolate the Bears’ best on the Rams’ weakest.

General manager Ryan Poles made a big late move in bringing back linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a 2023 Pro Bowl selection as a special teamer for the Detroit Lions, for the playoffs after he’d exhausted his maximum three practice squad call-ups in the regular season. Reeves-Maybin made the tackle on Santos’ first kickoff Saturday, and he’s a guy Hightower likes to use to set up returns.

The Bears have backups across the board who are experienced on special teams. It’s something they should be able to exploit.

“It’s the same as every week,” said defensive end Daniel Hardy, who had a team-high 19 special teams tackles in the regular season. “Go out and play with extreme violence and physicality, hunt the ball. Same as always. It’s a good opportunity for us to help the team and set the tone.

“It’s a week-to-week league. You’ve got to play everybody straight up and respect your opponent. I had a coach — coach Joel Sobotka in high school (Valley Catholic in Beaverton, Ore.) — he used to tell me all the time: ‘The best way you show your opponent that you respect them is by going out there and whipping their ass.'”