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The Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears both emerged from thrillers in the NFL wild-card round. Now, they form one of the playoffs’ most intriguing matchups, between an upstart Bears team riding the high of their first playoff win since the 2010 season and the perennially contending Rams.

The Bears are the home team, but it was the Rams who posted the better record during the regular season. They just had the misfortune of playing in the snake pit that is the NFC West, where three different teams finished at least 12-5.

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This season’s Rams feature the MVP favorite in Matthew Stafford, the NFL receptions leader in Puka Nacua and a defense with two Pro Bowl pass rushers in Byron Young and Jared Verse. They will face a Bears team riding the breakout of Caleb Williams and enjoying the immediate success of first-year head coach Ben Johnson.

What happened last week?

The Bears won via a cathartic comeback against the Green Bay Packers, while the Rams survived an upset bid from the Carolina Panthers.

Chicago entered the fourth quarter of its wild-card round game trailing 21-6. It felt like a familiar script for the fan base, with months of promise wiped out by a Packers team simply executing better. Then Williams went off book.

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Chicago scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to stun Green Bay, with Williams leading three lengthy touchdown drives to finish the game. It clearly meant a lot to the team.

As for the Rams, they went toe-to-toe with an overachieving Panthers team playing with the kind of house money you get when you make the playoffs with an 8-9 regular-season record. Los Angeles was clearly the better team early, but the Panthers landed two big punches in the second quarter to activate the upset alerts.

The Rams ultimately held on, primarily thanks to a clutch performance from Stafford. However, they almost certainly can’t afford to struggle like they did last weekend against a team like the Bears.

Chicago weather forecast for Rams-Bears

The Bears and Rams are projected to see a high of 19 degrees on Sunday at Soldier Field, which could matter when one of those teams plays in Los Angeles. The Rams haven’t played in conditions anywhere close to that this season.

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Will that matter? You never want to overrate the effect of weather on professional football players, but we’ll see how the cold affects the NFL’s most prolific passing offense, which the Rams have. However, Stafford also posted 324 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in last year’s season-ending playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, also played in freezing conditions.

Health update

Stafford sustained a sprain in his right index finger in the win over the Panthers, but stayed in the game and said later that he is “good to go” for the Bears game. That bore out on the practice report this week, with Stafford a full participant for Wednesday’s walkthrough.

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The only L.A. players who weren’t listed as full participants Wednesday were nose tackle Poona Ford (limited with an elbow injury), right guard Kevin Dotson (limited with an ankle injury) and cornerback Darious Williams (DNP due to personal reasons). All three of those players are starters, and Dotson is attempting to come back after a month missed.

The Bears had their two most productive wide receivers, DJ Moore (knee) and Rome Odunze (foot), both limited Wednesday. Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin was also limited with a back injury and cornerback Nick McCloud was a non-participant with a groin injury.

Cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson was a full participant after sitting out the Packers game last weekend with a concussion.

The head coaches

Following John Harbaugh’s ouster from the Baltimore Ravens and Mike Tomlin’s exit from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Rams’ Sean McVay is suddenly tied for the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL. It’s been a good tenure so far.

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McVay has a 9-5 career record in the postseason and a Super Bowl ring from the 2021 season. As long as he has a quarterback like Stafford and enough talent, you know he’s going to have a dangerous offense. He’s backed up by defensive coordinator Chris Shula, who has done good enough work this season that he’s received requests to interview for four different NFL head coaching jobs.

On the other end is Ben Johnson, who enjoyed a win in his first playoff game as head coach last weekend. Before his Bears hire, Johnson spent three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, who scored at least 24 points in the four playoff games they had him calling plays.

Key player for the Rams

The Rams’ defensive front is going to have its hands full with Williams, and no player will have more of a burden than Verse.

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Getting to Williams is one thing, and it’s doable considering he is second in the NFL in time to throw at 3.24 seconds, per Pro Football Focus. The other side of the coin is containing him. He ranks fifth in the NFL in scramble yards with 382, per PFF. Verse is the keystone of the Rams’ front seven, and will be key to limiting Williams’ damage.

Key player for the Bears

Since Dec. 1, Nacua has averaged 15.4 targets and 134.5 receiving yards per game. Outside of starting running back Kyren Williams, no other Ram comes within 1,000 yards from scrimmage of him. So the Bears’ top cornerback is going to be pretty important.

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Enter Jaylon Johnson. The Bears corner had an up-and-down night against the Packers and suddenly has what might be the toughest assignment in the league this weekend. If Stafford and Nacua aren’t fazed by the cold, how Johnson performs when matched up with Nacua could decide the game.

Betting market watch

The Rams have been oddsmakers’ top power-rated team for much of the season, which is reflected in this line. Los Angeles opened as a 4- or 4.5-point favorite at the Bears, but respected money has pushed that down to -3.5. The weather will be a factor, with potential snow and wind, which has caused the total to drop from 51.5 to 48.5. The Rams weren’t particularly impressive in their win over the Panthers last weekend, while we’re not sure if we’ll get the first-half or second-half version of the Bears. If it’s the second-half version, Chicago can certainly win this game; if it’s the team that went down 21-3 to Green Bay, it could be a long, cold night at Soldier Field for Bears fans. — Ben Fawkes

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Check out more of Ben’s work at the Yahoo Sports betting hub.

Prediction

The Bears are at home and you would imagine better equipped to navigate the temperature. However, the Rams have been the better team all season, with the kind of defensive front that can contain Caleb Williams. The Bears have made a season of thrilling comeback wins, but the Rams have more experience in these situations and should be able to hold on, assuming Stafford is healthy and doesn’t freeze solid.

Rams 17, Bears 10

If it’s true that defense wins championships, the Houston Texans should be feeling pretty good.

The divisional round includes a fascinating strength vs. strength matchup. The Texans’ defense is excellent. It allowed the fewest yards in the NFL this season. That group will face a New England Patriots offense led by Drake Maye, who along with Matthew Stafford are the two clear frontrunners for NFL MVP. Even if Stafford wins MVP, it doesn’t take away from how good Maye has been in his second season.

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The Patriots have had a huge breakout season, including their first playoff win since Tom Brady led a Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams. They went 14-3 after winning just four games each of the past two seasons. For those who were reveling over the Patriots’ decline after a long dynasty, their dip didn’t last long.

The Texans have never experienced success like those great Patriots teams. Houston has never been to the AFC championship game in its 24 seasons of existence. The Texans are 0-6 in the divisional round and each loss was by at least seven points. They’re hoping this defense takes them further than they’ve ever been in franchise history.

Previous meeting this season

The Texans and Patriots did not play this season and have faced off just once since 2021. That was a 41-21 Texans win during the 2024 season.

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Health update

The big name on the injury report for either team is Texans receiver Nico Collins, who suffered a concussion Monday night and hasn’t practiced yet this week. He is unlikely to play, which is a big blow to Houston’s offense. Collins had 1,117 receiving yards in the regular season and no other Texans receiver had more than 525. The other big question was Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who is also coming off a concussion but returned to practice Wednesday and is expected to play.

The head coaches

This is a matchup of two of the best coaches in the NFL. DeMeco Ryans has completely turned around the Texans. He’s 32-19 in his three seasons in Houston, and his influence is seen on the Texans’ top-ranked defense. Mike Vrabel could win NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. His first one came when he was leading the Titans, and he has done a magnificent job in his first season in New England. These are two of the best motivators and defensive minds among the NFL’s head-coaching ranks.

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Key player for the Texans

Nico Collins is likely to miss Sunday’s game, and the Texans aren’t a top-end offense even with Collins in the lineup. Houston will need someone to step up. Last week it was rookie running back Woody Marks, who rushed for 112 yards in a wild-card win over the Steelers. Marks has had a solid rookie season but that was his first game of more than 74 rushing yards. The Patriots are strong against the run and the pass, but without Collins it seems likely the Texans will need to generate a run game to get their offense going. Marks will be the focal point of that effort.

Key player for the Patriots

There aren’t many weak spots for the Texans’ defense. But tight ends have been productive against Houston recently. Over the last seven weeks Houston has allowed a passer rating of 123.8 when tight ends are targeted, according to NBC Sports Boston. That’s the ninth-highest mark in the NFL over that time. Hunter Henry had already been a big part of New England’s passing game. He was second on the Patriots with 768 receiving yards in the regular season and he led the team with seven receiving touchdowns. He scored the only Patriots touchdown in the wild-card round. He will be involved often Sunday.

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Betting market watch

The Patriots opened as 2.5-point home favorites at many sportsbooks, but the line has moved to -3 across the board, with a few -3.5s even popping up. Houston WR Nico Collins has yet to practice due to a concussion suffered against the Steelers on Monday night, and could miss the game. Drake Maye had some concerning mistakes in Sunday’s win against the Chargers. Was it a sign of things to come or a blip in what’s been a potential MVP campaign? C.J. Stroud also didn’t inspire confidence against the Steelers (five fumbles), but does have more playoff experience than Maye. Houston’s defense is good enough to win this game, but I think the Texans come up a bit short without Collins. — Ben Fawkes

Check out more of Ben’s work at the Yahoo Sports betting hub.

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Prediction

The Texans’ defense is fierce. Houston is going to keep the game low-scoring (so will its offense, unfortunately for the road team), and it’ll try to pull it out late by forcing a few key mistakes. That’s where Drake Maye should prevail. Maye is already one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, and he should be able to produce some big plays against a defense that doesn’t give up much. The Texans would have a much better chance to win if Nico Collins was available, but that’s unlikely. Without Collins, the Texans’ offense is in trouble.

Patriots 16, Texans 9

The Orlando Magic made the first NBA game played in Berlin even more memorable, rallying from a 20-point deficit in the second quarter to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 118-111.

Orlando trailed 52-32 at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter following a Jaren Jackson Jr. floater. But the Magic began chipping away at the large deficit from there. Five minutes later, Orlando cut the lead to 52-42 on two Tristan da Silva free throws. An 11-0 Magic run was finally stopped by a Santi Aldama 3-pointer. Yet Orlando continued its comeback, trimming the margin to 67-58 at halftime on a Paolo Banchero 3 with 2.5 seconds remaining.

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The halftime break didn’t cool off Orlando at all, as the Magic outscored Memphis 26-12 in the third quarter. Franz Wagner and Anthony Black hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 69-64, and Orlando pulled to within two points on a Banchero jumper at the 10:23 point. Orlando finally took the lead less than two minutes later with another Black 3 to go on top 71-70.

Black put an exclamation point on the victory, providing a play to remember with a dunk over four Grizzlies defenders in the lane with 2:27 remaining that gave Orlando a 109-107 lead.

The matchup at Berlin’s Uber Arena was the NBA’s first regular-season game in the country. Three of Orlando’s players — Franz and Moritz Wagner, in addition to da Silva — are from Germany. Orlando and Memphis will play each other again in London on Sunday. The games are part of the NBA’s initiative to increase its popularity in Europe and set a path toward launching a European league in a partnership with FIBA.

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Banchero led Orlando with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Black followed with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, shooting 4-for-7 on 3s. Franz Wagner added 18 points and 9 boards (5 on the offensive side). With the win, the Magic improved to 23-18, giving them a half-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jackson scored a game-high 30 points for Memphis, hitting 3-of-5 3-pointers. Aldama contributed 18 off the bench, nailing all four of his 3-point attempts. Desmond Bane scored 13 in his first game versus his former team since being traded to Orlando last June. And Cedric Coward added 17 points for the Grizzlies, who dropped to 17-23 with the defeat. That places them 10th in the West, tied with the Los Angeles Clippers.

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The Magic-Grizzlies matchup in London tips off at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday. Memphis hopes star guard Ja Morant will play after missing Thursday’s game with a right calf injury.

For the first time in his NFL career, Patrick Mahomes is spending his offseason rehabbing from a major injury. How quickly that progress goes by will be up to him and his body.

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback met with reporters via video call Thursday for the first time since sustaining a season-ending torn ACL late in the regular season. The injury has left Mahomes’ availability for the 2026 season in some doubt, but he said rehab is going well and he hopes to be 100% by Week 1:

“It’s been going great. Obviously I think the long term — I want to be ready for Week 1. Doctors said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process. That’s my goal, so I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play in that Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and give us the best chance to win.

“Obviously, I hope to be able to do some stuff in OTAs and get to training camp and hopefully be able to do a lot there. It’s a long process, but I’m excited for it.”

Those hopes line up with what Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine and performance, told reporters last month following Mahomes’ surgery. He threw out a loose recovery timeline of nine months, which would add up to a Sept. 15 return date. That’s a few days after the NFL’s season-opener, but with a large margin of error.

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His comment:

“Every player is different. Every sport’s different. Every position is different. With him, traditionally, he’s going after it so hard and he’s so in tune with what he does, he does it a little quicker. Ballpark on this is nine months. Could be a month or two less, a month or two more. You never know what goes on and everyone’s designed biomechanically, and so you just have to go through it.

Mahomes’ knee won’t be the only thing that needs recovery in the Chiefs organization. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since it drafted the future Hall of Famer and is facing the effects of an aging core in a quickly changing league.

Among the biggest question marks in Kansas City is what happens at offensive coordinator. The incumbent Matt Nagy’s contract is up and he has been interviewing for head-coaching positions over the past few weeks. A return appears unlikely, leaving head coach Andy Reid to find a replacement.

Mahomes said he trusts Reid to “have a good plan of whom he wants to bring in,” then laid out what he wants to see in the team’s next offensive coordinator:

“I just want someone that loves football, that cares about football, that wants to give everything they can to win, to hold people accountable and to bring new ideas every single day. I think that’s something that we have to continue to do if you want to continue to be great.

“In this league, you have to continue to evolve and get better and better. That’s something that we’ll try to do here. I want to get back to that winning culture and being accountable to each other and going out there and playing great football every single day, practice or game.”

Whenever he comes back, Mahomes’ talents figure to be an asset while trying to find a coordinator. Reid could very well look for a familiar face — perhaps Mike Kafka or Eric Bieniemy — or bring in someone entirely new. Whether the hire works out could have a significant effect on the rest of the AFC.

When NBC was preparing for its return to NBA broadcasting, the network’s biggest win was arguably catching one of the white whales of sports media: Michael Jordan.

The six-time NBA champion and billionaire has been a rarity on broadcasts since his retirement, which made it a coup when NBC said he would be working as a “special contributor” this season. Details were sparse, though, and the reality was underwhelming for many fans.

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Jordan’s special contributions have consisted solely of a sitdown discussions with NBC’s Mike Tirico, discussing his outlook on the game of basketball. Each “MJ: Insights to Excellence” segment comes from the same interview, taped before the season, so nothing topical is discussed.

A sample:

Speaking with Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina on a podcast airing Thursday, Tirico addressed the reception of the segments and confirmed they are all from the same interview. In total, the veteran broadcaster estimated that interview to have lasted from an hour and 40 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes.

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And he made it very clear who was driving the conversation:

“Are there a ton of topics you’d love to get to? Of course, but Michael really wanted to talk about where he sees the game right now and we haven’t heard a lot of that. So it was interesting, it was fun, it was good perspective.

“My takeaway was how much he cares about the games still. He loves the game and, in some regards, doesn’t love some of the direction of the game, and he wanted to talk about it.”

To be fair to NBC, the network never made it sound like Jordan would be filling a Charles Barkley-esque role, commentating on the latest games and news throughout the season. Tirico still seems aware there are some unsatisfied customers out there, and noted that it was better than nothing:

“Was it what everyone wanted? Probably not. Was it better than not hearing from Michael Jordan? You’re damn right it was. And if we get another shot at it, will I be more than excited to be a part of it? You betcha. In our world right now, all you want to do is make the final answer before you know everything. I love that Michael trusted us enough to sit and do something that he hasn’t done in a long, long, long time.”

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Tirico also confirmed no more interviews are scheduled with Jordan, so anything else NBC broadcasts will be from that same session. He did note another interview is a possibility and said he was up for whatever the legend wants to do, though it seems possible this arrangement is a one-and-done for the two sides.

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Aside from that, the NBA’s return to NBC seems to be going well, with national viewership surging for the league after switching from TNT on cable to one of the big broadcast networks.

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer will return to play for the Sooners next season and forego the 2026 NFL Draft, according to a social media post from the team.

After getting off to a 4-0 start, Mateer was an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy. Mateer was slowed down after suffering a hand injury in Week 4, which required surgery.

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The injury caused him to miss Week 6’s game against Kent State. Mateer returned the following week in the Red River Showdown against the Texas Longhorns, where he threw three interceptions in the 23-6 loss. Mateer also threw three interceptions against LSU and had four games throwing for under 200 yards after the injury.

[Get more Sooners football news: Oklahoma team feed]

The 21-year-old quarterback finished the season throwing for 2,885 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 12 starts last season. He also had 431 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground.

Mateer’s numbers were down across the board in his first season with the Sooners. In his sophomore year at Washington State, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Mateer also rushed for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns.

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The Sooners were able to finish the regular season 5-0 and advance to their first College Football Playoff appearance under head coach Brent Venables. Oklahoma lost in the first round of the playoffs to Alabama despite leading by 17 early in the game.

Linebacker Kip Lewis and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III also announced that they will return to the Sooners next season. Lewis led the team with 76 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble.

Sategna led the team with 67 catches for 965 yards and 8 touchdowns in his first season with Oklahoma after transferring from Arkansas.

While the older brother of Los Angeles Rams star receiver Puka Nacua was arrested last month for allegedly taking the car of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Adou Thiero without his consent, NBC4 Los Angeles reported Thursday that the incident turned out to be an accident and that Thiero won’t pursue charges.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told NBC4 that Samson Nacua, 27, took Thiero’s car thinking it was his brother’s SUV, which is the same model and color and only about one or two years older.

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The car, originally reported stolen, was tracked to the 1 Hotel in West Hollywood.

Not only was Samson Nacua arrested, but so was Trey Rose, another 27-year-old who rode in the car. Rose told deputies he didn’t even know that the car was reported stolen, the LASD said, per NBC4. He reportedly was swiftly cleared once investigators acquired more information about the incident.

Thiero recognized that it was a mistake and chose not to push for prosecution, according to NBC4, which also reported that deputies ultimately requested the L.A. County Attorney’s Office reject the case.

Thiero is a first-year forward for the Lakers. The Brooklyn Nets selected him in the second round of last year’s draft with the No. 36 overall pick, but he was then traded to L.A. in the NBA-record, seven-team deal that delivered Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.

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He played his college ball at Kentucky and Arkansas. So far with the Lakers, Thiero has appeared in 15 games, averaging only 5.8 minutes and 1.3 points across those outings.

As for Samson Nacua, he’s a wide receiver like Puka. And he, too, played at BYU. That’s where he finished his college career, following his stay at the University of Utah. Between the two schools, Nacua spent five seasons, amassing 1,344 receiving yards and 15 total touchdowns along the way.

He went undrafted in 2022 and has tried to catch on in the NFL since.

While Puka Nacua has starred in the league, Samson has played in the USFL and UFL, including for the Michigan Panthers. While playing for the Panthers last year, he was notably suspended one game for slapping a fan.

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He was just selected by the Birmingham Stallions in this year’s UFL Draft.

Last month’s news of Samson’s arrest coincided with a turbulent week for the Nacua family. Puka, amid his second Pro Bowl season, was fined $25,000 for his comments about the league’s officiating, which he voiced on a live stream with Adin Ross and on X mere minutes after a Week 16 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He then apologized, just as he had done after promising he would perform an antisemitic touchdown celebration on Ross’ stream. Nacua said in a statement that, at the time of the stream, he had “no idea” the act “was antisemitic in nature.”

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Who will come out on top of the Divisional Round of the playoffs this weekend? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano and Frank Schwab are joined by special guest LB Kyle Van Noy to preview the AFC’s matchups. But first, they dive into John Harbaugh reportedly signing a 5-year $100M deal to become head coach of the New York Giants. Kyle delivers his unique insight from their shared time together with the Baltimore Ravens. Later in the show, Andrew and Frank are joined by betting analyst Ben Fawkes to turn the page towards the NFC’s marquee matchups, before closing things out with their “One More Thing.”

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(4:00) – KVN on John Harbaugh, Ravens coaching search and more

(21:36) – Bills @ Broncos

(31:15) – Texans @ Patriots

(37:38) – 49ers @ Seahawks

(50:40) – Rams @ Bears

(59:18) – One More Thing

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

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Divisional round weekend is right around the corner and we have Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth here to get you ready. The two preview each game and provide their favorite matchups and prop bets along the way. Smyth also shares his favorite DFS lineup for Divisional weekend.

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(5:00) #6 Bills @ #1 Broncos

(21:50) #6 49ers @ #1 Seahawks

(37:35) #5 Texans @ #2 Patriots

(49:00) #5 Rams @ #2 Bears

(1:01:50) Joel’s Divisional Round DFS Lineup

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or yahoosports.tv

The Chicago Bears are preparing for a playoff clash with the Los Angeles Rams, and also possibly a move out of Illinois.

Bears president Kevin Warren floated a move to northwest Indiana last month in a letter to season-ticket holders amid a standoff with the Illinois legislature over a replacement for Soldier Field. The state of Indiana took a major step to return that interest with the introduction of Indiana Senate Bill 27.

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The bill would establish a northwest Indiana stadium authority and counts two major lawmakers among its authors, majority floor leader Chris Garten and appropriations chair Ryan Mishler. The authority would be tasked with acquiring, financing, constructing and leasing what’s needed to construct an NFL stadium.

The move comes only a day after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said, “We are working hard to bring the Chicago Bears to the Hoosier State” in his State of the State address. Per the Indianapolis Star, House Speaker Todd Huston told reporters that the task could be accomplished without opening the budget this year.

The Bears released a statement Thursday evening welcoming the move, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

“The legislation presented by the State of Indiana is a significant milestone in our discussions around a potential stadium development in Chicagoland’s Northwest Indiana region. We appreciate the leadership and responsiveness of Governor Braun and Indiana lawmakers in advancing a framework that allows these conversations to move forward productively.”

Figuring out their post-Soldier Field future has been a protracted process for the Bears. The team has made it clear it isn’t interested in renovating its home of the past half-century, as former mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed in 2022. Soldier Field is the NFL’s smallest stadium by seating capacity at 61,500 and the league’s oldest stadium at 101 years old.

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Instead, the team has both floated a new lakefront stadium near Soldier Field (projected price tag: $4.6 billion) and purchased land for a domed venue in the suburb of Arlington Heights (projected price tag: more than $5 billion). Both plans would require billions in taxpayer support.

The Arlington Heights plan was the team’s preferred move going into the winter, but hit a major stumbling block when Illinois state leaders allegedly told the team the project wouldn’t be a priority in 2026. That’s what prompted Warren’s statement opening the door for Indiana to step in.

Earlier this week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell visited the Bears for their wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers and spent some pregame time touring both the Arlington Heights site and multiple proposed sites in northwest Indiana. It wasn’t a subtle message.

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The Bears’ Indiana flirtation might only be a play to leverage Illinois’ leadership, but Indiana certainly seems to be treating the interest as real.