Rams linebacker was unsung hero of epic playoff overtime duel vs. Bears

It wasn't pretty, and it may not be a game head coach Sean McVay will look back on with fond memories, but the Los Angeles Rams have fought their way back to the NFC Championship game after escaping a vicious 20-17 overtime win against the Chicago Bears.

While Caleb Williams was the talk of the NFL world for his improbable Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired, the Rams would eventually ride a Williams interception and methodical drive that led to a kicker Harrison Mevis game-winner. On a night where Matthew Stafford was the offense, LA's ragtag bunch of defensive players won the day.

This could be part of a massive change for the Rams, as defensive players like linebacker Omar Speights could start to get more national love. While the Williams play erased his contributions as the marquee play of the evening, Speights was able to quietly break up a pass that would determine the outcome of the game.

On a fourth-down conversion attempt that would have likely tied the game at 17-17 before Williams' late heroics, Speights, who recorded eight tackles in the contest, knocked down a pass that fell incomplete. Had that pass been completed, Williams' drive into field goal range may have led to another Rams playoff loss.

Omar Speights was an unsung hero in Rams' playoff win vs. Bears

Between Speights and inside linebacker Nate Landman, neither of whom were added via high draft picks, the Rams have managed to pluck a quality starting linebacker duo that stepped up when needed from the ranks of the relative unknown. Perhaps this game will wake people up.

Speights' abilities not only helped slow down a Bears running game that constantly threatened to start taking the game over, but he also helped limit one of the best tight end duos in the league in Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet to a fairly uninspiring day at the office.

The Rams need to learn from this experience and fine-tune some thing, however, as the Seattle Seahawks might not let them get away with things that a second-year quarterback and rookie head coach in Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson let slide as they tried to continue their miracle run.

Speights and the Rams have shown to be quite the motley crew in the last few years on defense, but that hasn't necessarily done enough to blunt how effective they are. Big plays like the ones Speights made separate champions from teams who came close and just missed out.