Chicago is bracing for a deep freeze that could play a decisive role in Sunday night’s playoff game at Soldier Field, with single-digit temperatures, biting wind chills and light snow in the forecast.

Saturday opened with temperatures in the low to mid-teens and winds gusting up to 25 mph, producing wind chills in the single digits. Forecasters expect highs to struggle near 20 degrees, with a half-inch to an inch of snow possible through the weekend. By kickoff, temperatures are projected around 18 to 20 degrees, with winds capable of driving the “feels-like’’ reading below zero.

The conditions will be a sharp contrast for the Los Angeles Rams, who practiced Wednesday in 82-degree sunshine at their Woodland Hills facility. The shift from Southern California warmth to a frozen lakefront could affect footing, ball handling and the passing game, which historically suffer in sub-20-degree weather.

Chicago players are accustomed to those elements after months of outdoor practices, and cold, windy games tend to favor physical defense, field position and the running attack — staples of the Bears’ approach. Communication becomes tougher, kickers lose distance and fatigue arrives faster, challenges visiting warm-weather teams have often struggled to overcome.

The Bears have not won a Super Bowl since the 1985 season, a drought now at 40 years, but Sunday’s forecast offers the kind of traditional Chicago conditions that have long shaped postseason games at Soldier Field.