CHICAGO – Both of the Rams' playoff games have come down to the wire, and the suspense in the divisional round on Sunday somehow topped last week's wild-card thriller. Rams safety Kam Curl picked off Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in overtime, and then an offense that had struggled to move the ball all day set up kicker Harrison Mevis for a 42-yard game winner to send the Rams to the NFC Championship in style.

Rams head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford spoke with the media after punching their ticket to Seattle next weekend. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.

"I could have done a much better job (calling plays), and then I did think, once we were able to get some success, we settled into a little bit of a different approach, being able to lean on the run, and then when we were throwing it, picking up the tempo a little bit and I thought Matthew had a bunch of success keeping the ball in play and then guys made their plays. So I think overall, I did not like the feel for the flow of the game that I had outside of the first series." - McVay

The Rams dropped back to pass 27 times in the first half compared to just seven runs, and McVay acknowledged postgame that he could have had a better "feel for the game" in his play calling. That split ended a bit more even – 46 passes compared to 31 runs – but McVay said the players were able to execute and make up for his "bad coaching."

McVay was "kicking" himself when the offense punted on the first possession of overtime, thinking that it could cost them the game. "There's no excuse for that," he said. "I have to be better for our group, I will be better for our group." But after Curl's interception got the ball back and the offense drove into Chicago territory, McVay felt good about their chances. When Mevis trotted out for the game-winning kick, McVay said he felt "very confident" that he would make that and it seemed like "the football gods are smiling on us," as the weather had calmed down a bit.

"What I was so impressed with in these elements, was our guys' ability to catch the ball. I mean, that's a great interception Kam Curl made, DeCobie (Durant) makes his plays... It's a game-ball worthy performance for the whole group." - McVay

Quarterback Caleb Williams' three interceptions were the most he's thrown in a game in his career up to this point. "I'm so impressed (with the defense). They carried the way tonight," McVay said. He also praised Williams' ability to make plays with his legs, but thought the Rams were "in the most important moments." Even after the game-tying fourth-down conversion that saw Bears quarterback Caleb Williams heave it into the end zone while running for his life, the Rams flushed it and made the plays they needed to make. But postgame, McVay marveled at Williams' clutch touchdown: "Can you guys believe they made that play right there?"

Ahead of a huge 3rd-and-6 conversion that set up the game-winner, McVay said that he and Stafford spoke on the sideline about what play they wanted to run. The play to wide receiver Puka Nacua was one that had yielded success before, and it did so again on possibly the biggest play of the season. Now, the Rams will get a third shot at the Seahawks, after splitting the regular season series with their division rival. McVay called them "a special football team."

"(Before the last drive) I looked at Sean, he looked at me... and I'm like 'Here we go,' and that's what it's all about." - Stafford

Then he told the team what he always does in those situations: "'Let's go get some points,'" he recalled. "At that point, that's all that mattered." There was no heart snatching phrase this week, but it did the job just the same. Stafford said that they ended up switching the third down play that ultimately went to Nacua and got the Rams into field goal range after McVay asked him if he liked that look. "Hell yeah, I love that one," Stafford responded, and it worked to perfection. "It was a great call, great feel by him" to call the timeout, scrap the original play and get into a better look.

"Obviously (there are) things we can do better, but we found a way to win the football game and in January and February, that's what matters," Stafford said.

"I definitely didn't get into a great rhythm today. There's no question about that. Had some opportunities in the pass game, just some things that made it tough. Obviously, I can be better, but playoff football is about winning the football game. (I) played great, threw for a bunch of yards last year in the snow and and we lost." - Stafford

Chicago brought a lot of blitzes with their defensive backs throughout the game, and Stafford said that he could have communicated better to mitigate the impact of those and "help make sure that we're in the right spot and our guys are going to the right spot." He said they "did a nice job mixing it up" defensively.

Stafford said going to Seattle next week will be "a huge challenge," and complimented their coaching and talent. "Can we go into their place, arguably the toughest place to play in the league, a team that's played really good football all year, and find a way to win it?" That's the task at hand, and Stafford believes in this team's ability to do just that.