The Rams will head to Chicago on Sunday to face off against the Bears with a spot in the NFC championship game on the line.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the game, Los Angeles coach Sean McVay<\/a> was asked about his relationship with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, as Green Bay had just defeated the Bears in the divisional round<\/a>. Would he be leaning on LaFleur in an attempt to gain any possible edge against Ben Johnson in their upcoming battle?<\/p>\n McVay laughed off the question while also acknowledging the obvious.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat would you guess?\u201d he asked in response, smiling. \u201cNo, you know what\u2014we watch the tape, we do our work, and Matt is a very close friend of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n #Rams<\/a> HC Sean McVay on whether he\u2019s been on the phone with #Packers<\/a> HC Matt LaFleur:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat would you guess? No, you know what \u2014 we watch the tape, we do our work, and Matt is a very close friend of mine.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/LsfESmlnoU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) January 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Not only are McVay and LaFleur tied together from their branching paths off of the Mike Shanahan coaching tree, but LaFleur\u2019s brother Mike LaFleur currently serves as the Rams\u2019 offensive coordinator. There\u2019s a good chance McVay would be talking over the week\u2019s matchup with the LaFleur brothers no matter who the opponent was this upcoming week. It\u2019s just a bit extra convenient that the opponent is one that LaFleur has to face off against regularly.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no \u201cOne Weird Trick\u201d to beating the Bears in the playoffs, and if LaFleur had one, he probably would have used it last week. That said, there\u2019s likely a few things that the Packers coach could share that he found from a week of prepping for Chicago to get the ball rolling.<\/p>\n Further, McVay is undoubtedly hoping to take down Johnson, not just to keep his team\u2019s run for a Super Bowl alive, but also to ensure that he comes out on top of the next coaching handshake<\/a> the world is waiting to see.<\/p>\n Sunday cannot come fast enough.<\/p>\n More NFL on Sports Illustrated