Rams vs. Chicago Bears: How to watch, start time, odds prediction

Rams kicker Harrison Mevis grew up in northern Indiana, a few hours from Soldier Field in Chicago.

Cold weather? Wind?

Mevis, who used to shovel snow off his high school field to practice, is accustomed to it.

“It’s backyard football,” Mevis said this week as he prepared for Sunday’s NFC divisional-round playoff game against the Chicago Bears.

Mevis and the Rams special teams are expected to play a key role in the matchup between the No. 2-seeded Bears and the No. 5 Rams in a game that could be played with temperatures in the teens and a wind-chill of less than zero degrees.

The Rams signed Mevis in November to replace Joshua Karty, and he made 12 of 13 field-goal attempts and all 39 extra-points. Mevis kicked two field goals and four extra points in the Rams’ 34-31 wild-card victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Mevis, who played in college at Missouri, noted that because of the expected weather, the ball might be harder and might not travel as far as it would in warmer climates. And then there is the wind.

Before and during warmups, Mevis said he would assess the wind and targets to kick toward. He will do the same at halftime.

But he won’t overthink it in the moment.

“Just play your ball and slice the wind and spin it to win it,” he said. “That’s kind of the deal.”

The Carolina game also included a blocked punt by the Panthers that set up a touchdown. The Panthers took advantage of a blown blocking assignment by the Rams for the turnover.

Interim special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica and punter Ethan Evans said the problem was correctable.

Evans, also the holder for field-goals and extra points, said the windy conditions in Charlotte, N.C., helped prepare him for gusts that are expected Sunday.

No major changes are necessary, he said.

“Field goals have got to go through the uprights, punts got to go outside the numbers with good hang time and kickoffs got to get on the ground just like any other game,” he said.