Los Angeles Rams (13-5) at Chicago (12-6)
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, NBC.
BetMGM NFL odds: Rams by 3 1/2.
Against the spread: Rams 12-6; Bears 10-7-1.
Series record: Bears lead 55-39-3.
Last meeting: Bears beat Rams 24-18 at Chicago on Sept. 29, 2024.
Last week: Rams won at Carolina 34-31; Bears beat Green Bay 31-27.
Rams offense: overall (1), rush (7), pass (1), scoring (1).
Rams defense: overall (17), rush (12), pass (19), scoring (10).
Bears offense: overall (6), rush (3), pass (10), scoring (9)
Bears defense: overall (29), overall (27), pass (22), scoring (23)
Turnover differential: Rams plus-11; Bears plus-22.
DB Quentin Lake returned after missing the last seven games of the regular season because of an elbow injury. The long layoff clearly hindered him at times, but Lake had six tackles and broke up two passes as the only Rams defender to play every snap in the wild-card victory over the Panthers. Lake will have to be on top of his game to help contain the Bears.
QB Caleb Williams. Williams once again delivered down the stretch as Chicago rallied from 18 down to beat the Packers in his playoff debut. Now, he'll try to join Sid Luckman (1941), Jim McMahon (1985) and Rex Grossman (2006) as the only Bears quarterbacks to win multiple playoff games in a single season. Chicago outscored Green Bay 25-6 in the fourth quarter last week on the way to its seventh comeback win. Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, threw for a franchise playoff-record 361 yards and two late touchdowns, including a go-ahead 25-yarder to DJ Moore with 1:43 remaining. During the regular season, the former USC star a club record with 3,942 yards passing to go with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Rams LBs Jared Verse and Byron Young against Bears LT Theo Benedet. The Rams have two Pro Bowl outside linebackers who figure to be a threat to the left side no matter how they're moved around. Young had 12 sacks during the regular season and Verse finished with 7 1/2. Benedet figures to fill in for Ozzy Trapilo, who suffered a season-ending injury against Green Bay after emerging as the starting left tackle during his rookie season.
Rams: QB Matthew Stafford is good to go after spraining the index finger on his throwing hand while following through and making contact with a Panthers defender. … RG Kevin Dotson is on track to return after missing the past three games because of an ankle injury, giving the offensive line its best and most consistent player back. … CB Ahkello Witherspoon was put on injured reserve and is out for the season after reinjuring his shoulder blade against Carolina. Darious Williams or Josh Wallace could replace him.
Bears: The Bears lost LB T.J. Edwards (broken left fibula) and LT Ozzy Trapilo (knee) to season-ending injuries last week. Edwards was carted off the field in the second quarter, and Trapilo hopped to the sideline on Chicago’s go-ahead drive near the end of the game. ... CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson (concussion), who missed last week's game, would have been a full participant Wednesday had the Bears practiced rather than conducted a walkthrough.
The Bears dropped three straight against the Rams before beating them in Week 4 last season, though Los Angeles was missing injured star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. ... This is the third playoff game between the Rams and Bears. The 1985 Bears won 24-0 in the NFC championship game, holding Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson to 46 yards rushing on 17 carries, on the way to capturing the franchise's lone Super Bowl title. The Rams defeated the Bears in the divisional round in 1950 before losing the NFL championship game to the Cleveland Browns.
The Rams are in the divisional round for the fifth time in seven postseason appearances under coach Sean McVay. They are 2-2 in divisional games, having defeated the Cowboys after the 2018 season and the Buccaneers after the 2021 season en route to Super Bowl appearances, but lost at the Packers after the 2020 season and at the Eagles last season. … Stafford has thrown multiple touchdown passes in each of his eight playoff games for LA, with 18 touchdown passes to four interceptions in that span. If he throws for two or more scores against Chicago, Stafford would tie Aaron Rodgers (9) for the longest streak of postseason games with multiple touchdown passes in NFL history. … Stafford’s game-winning drive against Carolina was his fourth in the postseason and 54th overall. … WR Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown against the Panthers, producing his fifth game this season with double-digit catches and 100 yards. It was Nacua’s second postseason 100-yard performance. … The Rams finished with 411 total yards in the wild-card win, their seventh game this season with at least 30 points and 400 yards. … McVay has faced 15 different teams in his 15 playoff games as Rams head coach. A win would guarantee his first repeat opponent against either the Seahawks or 49ers in the NFC championship game. … Chicago is coming off its first playoff win in 15 years. The Bears had lost three straight postseason games since the 2010 team beat Seattle in a divisional game. ... Chicago rallied from 18 down against Green Bay, the biggest postseason comeback in franchise history. It was also the largest playoff comeback in the NFL since the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars rallied to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in a wild-card game after trailing 27-0. ... The Bears had a league-leading 103 points in the fourth quarter and overtime from Weeks 9 to 18 during the regular season. ... Chicago led the league in interceptions (23), takeaways (33) and turnover differential (plus-22) while committing a league-low 11 turnovers. The Bears were the first team to lead the NFL in takeaways and commit the fewest turnovers since San Francisco in 2011.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams celebrates after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Carolina Panthers, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday even as he has questioned her credibility to take over her country after the U.S. ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.
The Nobel Institute has said Machado could not give her prize to Trump, an honor that he has coveted. Even if it the gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has effectively sidelined Machado, who has long been the face of resistance in Venezuela. He has signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second in command.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so "as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, giving no timetable on when elections might be held. Machado indicated that he had provided few specifics on that front during their discussion.
She did not provide more information on what was said, and the White House did not say if Trump accepted the medal or offer other details of its own.
After a closed-door meeting with Trump, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the White House gates, stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them without elaborating, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump.”
Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she traveled last month to Norway, where her daughter received the peace prize on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony.
The jubilant scene after her meeting with Trump stood in contrast to political realities in Venezuela. Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations, along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. In her first state of the union speech Thursday, the interim president promoted the resumption of diplomatic ties between the historic adversaries and advocated for opening the state-run oil industry to more foreign investment after Trump pledged to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” but also said the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”
Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado had sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. She spent about two and a half hours at the White House.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said while the meeting was still going on, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
After leaving the White House, Machado went on to a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Machado told them that “if there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.”
“She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.
Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House on holding elections in Venezuela, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them."
Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, was exultant following the meeting, saying Machado "delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America. That getting rid of Maduro was absolutely essential.”
Machado's Washington stop coincided with U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seizing another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife less than two weeks ago at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and noted that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.” Machado had steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize, and had sought to cultivate relationships with him and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, Machado began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush, whom Chávez considered an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Michelle L. Price and Matthew Lee in Washington, and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is welcomed at the Capitol before a meeting with senators, from left, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders two weeks after President Donald Trump toppled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a stunning military raid, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, center, leaves the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, is welcomed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., left, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., far left, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., right, as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient visits American leaders at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
