With the 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional Round, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay earned his 10th playoff win of his career. It moved him into a tie for 14th all-time with coaches like Bill Walsh and George Seifert. What’s unique about McVay’s playoff record is that all 10 wins have also come against 10 different opponents. With McVay set to play his first postseason opponent for a second time, I thought it would be fun to rank each of McVay’s playoff wins.
1. 2021 Super Bowl vs. Bengals
It doesn’t get
much better than the Super Bowl. This was the first Super Bowl win for the Rams since the Greatest Show on Turf during the 1999 season. It was also their first Super Bowl ever in Los Angeles and it came in dramatic fashion. The Rams trailed 20-16 late in the fourth quarter and then Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp took over. Stafford found Kupp on a no-look pass and then finished the drive with a touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Of course, Aaron Donald’s role can’t be overlooked as well. Donald’s pressure on Joe Burrow on fourth down to end the game will go down in history.
2. 2021 NFCCG vs. 49ers
An argument can be made that this has been the best postseason win of the McVay era. Heading into this game, the Rams had lost six straight games to the 49ers. They had just lost in Week 18 in overtime after holding a big lead. The Rams trailed, 17-7, heading into the fourth quarter and then Stafford and the defense took over. McVay finally got the Kyle Shanahan monkey off his back and when an Aaron Donald pressure turned into an interception that clinched the game, the Rams sent the 49ers back to Santa Clara.
3. 2018 NFCCG @ Saints
This was the first NFC Championship game for McVay as the Rams took on the experienced New Orleans Saints. The Rams trailed 13-0 after the first quarter and had their backs against the wall late in the game. Jared Goff led the Rams down the field to tie the game and then a John Johnson III interception in overtime put the offense in position to win the game. With a 57-yard field goal, Greg Zuerlein broke the hearts of Saints fans, Drew Brees, and Sean Payton. The Rams would go on to lose the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots.
4. 2025 NFC Divisional @ Bears
The win against the Bears wasn’t McVay’s best coached game by any means, but from a pure entertainment standpoint, it’s hard not to put this one at four. There may be some recency bias, but this was an exciting win. The Rams heard all week about how they couldn’t win in the cold at Soldier Field. McVay was 0-2 at Soldier Field heading into this game. After Caleb Williams hit Cole Kmet on 4th-and-4 in the end zone to tie the game, it seemed like everything was against the Rams. However, Kam Curl intercepted Caleb Williams for a third time in overtime and Matthew Stafford led the offense down the field to set up Harrison Mevis for a game-winning field goal.
5. 2018 NFC Divisional vs. Cowboys
An argument can be made that this is too high, but it’s important to remember how the Rams got to this point. Heading into this game, the Rams hadn’t won a playoff game since 2004. They had just lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the playoffs the year before. There were times between 2005 and 2016 that a playoff appearance, let alone a playoff win, didn’t seem possible. For the Rams to win this game in the fashion that they did after years of organizational ineptitude is what makes this one special. This was the beginning of a new Rams team.
6. 2021 NFC Divisional @ Buccaneers
I’d be ok with moving this one ahead of the Cowboys because of the entertainment value. The Rams led early in this game before Tom Brady and the Buccaneers tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Stafford hit Kupp on the infamous ‘for the love of the game’ route and Matt Gay sent the Rams to the NFC Championship. It wasn’t a complete game from the Rams, but they did enough and it was another example of why the Rams traded for Stafford.
7. 2024 NFC Wild Card vs. Vikings
This is another one that could get moved up because of everything that happened prior to this game. The Rams were meant to host the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. However, because of the California fires, this game got moved to State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The Rams defense sacked Sam Darnold nine times to win during an emotional week.
8. 2020 NFC Wild Card @ Seahawks
Anybody else enjoy John Wolford’s lone playoff win? This was effectively the end for Jared Goff. McVay started Wolford in the playoff game against the Seahawks only for Wolford to get hurt on the second possession of the game. Goff came in and completed a few big passes, but this was all about Cam Akers rushing for 131 yards and Darious Williams intercepting Russell Wilson and taking it the other way for a touchdown. It’s always sweet beating a division rival in the playoffs.
9. 2025 NFC Wild Card @ Panthers
This was a big playoff win in the sense that it was another game-winning drive from Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter. However, it should never have gotten to that point against an 8-9 Panthers team. The touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson will always be memorable, but outside of that, the Rams had bigger fish to fry than the Panthers and Bryce Young.
10. 2021 NFC Wild Card vs. Cardinals
The Rams started their Super Bowl journey with a win over the Arizona Cardinals. After losing to the Cardinals early in the season, the Rams beat them on Monday Night Football to steal the division. On the NFL’s first Monday Night Football playoff broadcast, the Rams cruised past the Cardinals. Troy Reeder scored a defensive touchdown as the Rams got their first playoff win at SoFi Stadium.
