After a win in the Wild Card round, the Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay will make the trip to face the Chicago Bears up north for a chance to play in the NFC Divisional round.
This matchup will feature a fun matchup between genius offensive coordinators in McVay and Ben Johnson. While an exciting matchup, there's one wild streak that's being extended with this matchup.
As John Breech of CBS Sports notes, this Bears matchup will be McVay's 15th playoff game in his career, and somehow, it will be the 15th opponent his Rams' teams will have faced in the playoffs. He has not once had a repeat opponent as head coach of the Rams.
Sean McVay to extend streak to 15 games without repeat playoff opponent
"With the Rams facing the Bears in the divisional round," Breech writes, "Sean McVay will somehow be facing his 15th different team in 15 career playoff games."
Sean McVay, since 2018, has had his team play in 14 playoff games, with a 15th coming up against the Bears. In all of those games, there has not once been a repeat opponent.
Starting in the 2017 NFL season, McVay and the Rams faced the Atlanta Falcons, losing 26-13 in his first season as head coach.
The next season, the Rams faced off against the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and finally the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
In 2019, the Rams missed the playoffs. But, during the 2020 season, McVay and the Rams had two playoff matchups, one against the Seattle Seahawks and another against the Green Bay Packers.
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Then, during the Rams' 2021 Super Bowl-winning playoff run, McVay's Rams faced the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and Cincinnati Bengals.
The 2022 season was a rough one, finishing 5-12, and missing the playoffs for just the second time in McVay's tenure. Then in 2023, the Rams lost to the Detroit Lions, making it the 11th unique playoff opponent.
During the 2024 playoffs, the Rams beat the Minnesota Vikings, then lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
And now, this postseason, after a win over the Carolina Panthers, the Rams and McVay will face the Bears in the Divisional round.
McVay has, somehow, had his Rams team appear in 15 playoff games, and not once have they played the same team before since he's taken over as head coach.
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If they beat the Bears, the streak will come to a close, as the Rams have already gone up against the 49ers and Seahawks.
There are only two NFC teams the Rams haven't faced in the playoffs yet: the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders.
To extend the streak beyond 15 straight unique opponents, there's only one clear path: lose to the Bears, and face the Commanders or Giants in their next playoff game(s).
A first-round bye, combined with a game against the Giants and Commanders in the Divisional and Championship rounds, and a Super Bowl matchup against a team not named the Patriots or Bengals, would extend the streak to 18 games.
The streak can't go beyond that number. But, even 15 straight games against non-repeat teams is wildly impressive. It's a testament to McVay's ability to consistently make the playoffs and some incredible luck with matchups over the years.
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