HOPING FOR 'FULL 60'

McVay says Rams must sustain a strong effort the entire game to beat the Bears

- BY GARY KLEIN

PUKA NACUA will be a big part of the Rams' passing attack Sunday. He's coming off a wild-card game in which he caught 10 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown.

(ROBERT GAUTHIER Los Angeles Times)

Sean McVay, taking a cue from quarterback Matthew Stafford, will don an upper-body neoprene undergarment. Perhaps a heated vest. And his gelled hair spike will be covered with a beanie.

The Rams' coach does not need any weather-related distractions on the field or on the sideline when his team plays the Chicago Bears on Sunday in an NFL divisional-round game at Soldier Field, where the windchill factor could fall below zero.

"What do you think, I'm going to dress up like the Michelin Man or something?" McVay said when queried about his planned sideline attire. "And now that I'm not being too stubborn about throwing a beanie on after my mom and my wife ripped my ass, I'll be in good shape there too."

The Rams are aiming for a better ending and warmer feeling than they experienced the last time they played a divisional-round game in cold weather.

Almost exactly one year ago, the Rams traveled to Philadelphia and lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Eagles in the snow.

The Rams could have avoided being on the road for the playoffs this year had they held onto the top seed in the NFC, but they lost three of their last six games and fell to No. 5.

So here they are again.