CHICAGO – The ground was frozen, hard as cement and speckled with snow. The Rams' defense had been on the field for nearly 40 game minutes. But with the season hanging in the balance, all safety Kam Curl could see was the pigskin.
From the Rams' 48-yard line in overtime, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams lofted a deep ball to wide receiver D.J. Moore. If he caught it, Chicago would have advanced into field goal range, and any points would have won it. Curl dove for the ball, got his arms around it and twisted his body so that when the bobble happened, it landed in his hands, not on the grass. The Rams drove into Bears territory on the ensuing drive to kick the game-winning field goal.
"It felt great to make that play, to help my team win the game," Curl said. "That's what I came here for, that's what they brought me here for... Giving the ball back to Matthew Stafford, it always feels great. I feel like he the best ever, man, and he's gonna get the job done."
His teammates and coaches were enamored by the play.
"What a freaking catch," head coach Sean McVay said effusively. "Unbelievable play," Stafford said.
"Big time players make big time plays in big time games. Simple," said cornerback Cobie Durant while nodding his head emphatically.
That interception capped off one of the best games of Curl's career, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He registered a team-high 13 total tackles, two passes defended, a quarterback hit and a huge fourth-down run stop in addition to his clutch interception in the Rams' 20-17 victory over Chicago.
Curl's nose for the football in this game was unmatched, as he constantly flew in to make heroic plays when the Rams needed them most. According to Next Gen Stats, he allowed just two receptions for 11 yards on four targets along with two run stuffs.
Late in the second quarter, the Bears decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 in L.A. territory. The handoff went to running back Kyle Monangai, but Curl shot the gap from inside the box to wrap him up for no gain, helped by inside linebacker Nate Landman.
In the third quarter, Curl laid out Moore on the sideline, knocking the ball out of his hands to turn what would have been an 18-yard gain into an incompletion.
Curl led the type of elite defensive effort that the Rams hadn't put together in a while, complete with three interceptions, three fourth-down stops and 17 points allowed against one of the most electric offenses in football. His individual success aside, Curl was happy to help get the Rams' defense back on track.
"It felt good getting back to us," Curl said. "We know what type of guys we are on this defense, we know that's our standard. We had some lapses the last few games, but getting back to ourself and getting our confidence back, that was big for us."
