During January football, the nights are colder, the games mean more, and you can tell every team left is fighting for something bigger than just a win. That is the energy heading into Sunday at Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears host the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.
The Bears are fighting for the kind of season people talk about for years, and the Rams are arriving with the quiet, stubborn confidence of a team that believes it can ruin someone else’s happy ending. And because this is prime-time playoff football, NBC is sending in its best voices to narrate every throw and every tackle.
Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams: Game Details
- Kick-off: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026
- Broadcast: NBA
- Stream: Peacock
- Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
A Look at the Announcers for Rams-Bears Game
- Play-by-play: Mike Tirico
- Color commentator: Cris Collinsworth
- Sideline: Melissa Stark
According to USA Today, NBC’s broadcast will be headlined by the network’s signature trio: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, and Melissa Stark, the same crew that has become synonymous with Sunday Night Football, and for good reason. They not only call the games, but sometimes set even the heartbeat of them.
Tirico will be on play-by-play, which means he’s the one holding the pen while the story unravels. His voice is calm in the way you want it to be when everything on the field feels anything but. When the game tightens, as it so often does in January, Tirico’s steady cadence becomes the through line that keeps it all grounded.
Beside him is Collinsworth, the analyst who is both the most intelligent person in the room and the easiest to listen to.
A former NFL wide receiver, Collinsworth is especially sharp when it comes to quarterbacks, which makes him a perfect guide for what’s apparently going to be an incredible battle: Chicago’s young signal-caller Caleb Williams versus the Rams’ seasoned and unshakable Matthew Stafford.
On the sideline, Stark has a way of finding the instances that slip past everyone else, the subtle shifts in energy, the injury updates that suddenly change the feel of the game. She adds depth, making the game feel less like you’re watching from far and more like you’re right there in the cold Chicago air.
NBC’s playoff coverage will also include Kaylee Hartung, adding further reporting and insight through the night. The Rams are the highest-ranked with a 92.3 impact score in the PFSN NFL Offense Impact Metric. In comparison, the Bears are ranked 10th with a 79.5 score.
