Before Sean McVay, the Los Angeles Rams went 12 consecutive years without a playoff appearance. Now, the playoffs wouldn't feel much like the playoffs without the Rams.
McVay has helped turn L.A. Into a perennial contender in the NFC, with seven playoff appearances in nine years, two trips to the Super Bowl and one championship.
For all of those playoff appearances, McVay's track record is a bit of an oddity: through 14 playoff games, he has faced 14 different opponents. The Rams haven't seen any team twice in the playoffs since McVay took over, and that streak will continue in the divisional round, with the Rams set to face the Chicago Bears.
Here's a closer look at how McVay has somehow played a different team in each of his playoff games as a head coach.
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Sean McVay playoff opponents
2017
- Wild-card — Falcons: McVay made his playoff debut as a head coach against the reigning NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, but the Rams lost as a home favorite. What was a prolific L.A. Offense in the regular season was quieted by the Falcons, who jumped out to an early 13-0 lead and limited the Rams to 13 points.
2018
- Divisional — Cowboys: After earning one of the NFC's two byes, the Rams won their first playoff game under McVay by a score of 30-22 at home against the Dallas Cowboys. L.A. Trailed after one quarter but scored 20 straight to jump in front 23-7 by the early third quarter, backed by 100-yard rushing performances by both Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson.
- NFC championship — Saints: McVay and the Rams punched their ticket to the Super Bowl with an overtime win over the New Orleans Saints on the road in the NFC championship game. The Saints jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but the Rams got back into it before halftime and would tie the game on a fourth-quarter field goal by Greg Zuerlein. After a controversial no-call for pass interference prevented the Saints from going for a go-ahead touchdown, the two teams traded field goals late in regulation before a Drew Brees interception set up a long Zuerlein field goal for the win.
- Super Bowl 53 — Patriots: The first of McVay's two playoff games against an AFC team (also known as the Super Bowl), the Rams saw their offensive fortune run out against the New England Patriots. While the Aaron Donald-led defense kept Tom Brady and the Patriots in check, the offense just could not get going, scoring only three points as McVay was denied a championship.
2020
- Wild-card — Seahawks: The Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West in 2020, but the Rams got a chance at revenge in the wild-card round and took advantage of it. John Wolford started in place of Jared Goff with Goff battling a thumb injury, but Goff remained active and entered the game in the first quarter Wolford went down with an injury. While Goff only completed nine passes, he avoided turnovers and got some help from a Russell Wilson pick-six as the Rams rolled to a comfortable 30-20 win.
- Divisional — Packers: The Rams went to Green Bay hoping a terrific defense and only a partly healthy Goff were enough to pull off an upset, but the defense was no match for Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-18 Green Bay win, and it would mark Goff's final playoff start with the Rams.
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2021
- Wild-card — Cardinals: The Rams and Arizona Cardinals closed the 2021 season on two very different trajectories, and that carried into the NFL's first "Monday Night Football" wild-card matchup when McVay and L.A. Dispatched Arizona 34-11 to spark a Super Bowl run.
- Divisional — Buccaneers: Just 25 percent of perhaps the most thrilling weekend in NFL history, the Rams jumped out to a commanding 27-3 lead over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers and saw it all slip away, with Tampa Bay tying the game at 27 late in the fourth quarter. That left just enough time for Matthew Stafford to hit Cooper Kupp for two big completions to set up a game-winning field goal by Matt Gay.
- NFC championship — 49ers: After trailing for a portion of the second half, Stafford led another game-winning drive to defeat the rival San Francisco 49ers and win their second NFC title of McVay's tenure.
- Super Bowl 56 — Bengals: McVay won his first Super Bowl after Stafford led a go-ahead touchdown drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals, hitting Cooper Kupp for the franchise-changing score. When the Bengals had a chance to answer in the final minute, L.A.'s defense closed it out and completed McVay's ascent to one of the game's great coaches.
2023
- Wild-card — Lions: McVay and the Rams surged late in 2023 after a difficult start, but they played their way into a matchup with the equally hot Detroit Lions in a homecoming for Stafford. With a raucous crowd behind the Lions, Goff exacted his revenge and McVay and the Rams for a Detroit playoff win.
2024
- Wild-card — Vikings: McVay coached in the home stadium of one of his former playoff opponents, as the wild-card playoff game between the Rams and Minnesota Vikings had to be moved to Arizona due to severe wildfires in Southern California, but the result was still his first playoff win since Super Bowl 56 as L.A.'s defense silenced Sam Darnold.
- Divisional — Eagles: The Rams gave the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles more of a scare than any other team in the 2024 playoffs, coming within 11 yards of the end zone while trailing by six in the final minutes, but L.A.'s season ended in snowy Philadelphia.
MORE: How many game-winning drives does Matthew Stafford have?
2025
- Wild-card — Panthers: Opponent No. 14 was the Carolina Panthers, who won the NFC South at just 8-9, and the upstart Panthers almost ended L.A.'s run before it started. The Rams trailed late in the fourth quarter, but Stafford led another game-winning drive that ended with a Colby Parkinson touchdown to advance to the divisional round.
- Divisional — Bears: Had the Bears not stormed back from a 21-3 deficit against the Packers or the 49ers not taken out the Eagles, the streak would have been over. Instead, the Rams landed a date with Chicago in the divisional round, giving McVay his 15th different playoff opponent in 15 games. If the Rams advance, that streak is guaranteed to end.
Sean McVay playoff record
| Season | W | L | Result |
| 2017 | 0 | 1 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | Lost in Super Bowl |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | Missed playoffs |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | Won Super Bowl |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | Missed playoffs |
| 2023 | 0 | 1 | Lost in wild-card round |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | Lost in divisional round |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | TBD |
| Career | 9 | 5 |
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McVay is 9-5 in his playoff career as a head coach, including two Super Bowl appearances and one championship. He is 2-0 in NFC championship game appearances, though he's twice suffered a wild-card round exit, falling in the Rams' playoff opener in 2017 and 2023.
The New York Giants and Washington Commanders are now the only NFC teams McVay has never faced in the playoffs.