Ben Johnson has beaten Sean McVay in playoffs, but Dennis Allen’s experience was different
With as good as the Rams offense and as bad as Bears defense has been this season, Sunday’s divisional round game could come down to the matchup between Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay against Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Although he wasn’t directly involved in the play, will Allen remember the last time he faced McVay in a playoff game?
Even though the Rams and Bears haven’t faced each other in the playoffs since 1985, Allen and head coach Ben Johnson have a lot of recent experience against McVay.
As head coach or defensive coordinator of the Saints, Allen has faced the Rams eight times since 2016. As offensive coordinator of the Lions, Johnson faced the Rams twice in the last two years, including a 2023 wild card win.
What do those recent meetings mean for Sunday’s playoff game?
“Don’t blitz Stafford.”
Bears analyst Clay Harbor, who was teammates with Matthew Stafford on the Lions in 2016, sees this as a difficult matchup for Chicago and especially if they try to blitz him:
“Yes he had 46 touchdowns, but he also only had 8 interceptions. The Rams had the 4th-fewest turnovers in the league and we know that’s how the Bears like to win games. The second thing is don’t blitz Stafford. He likes it. Against the blitz, he has a 125 passer rating with 32 touchdowns and one interception.”
Allen’s Bears had a blitz rate of 28.7% in 2025, the 12th-highest rate in the NFL.
As head coach of the Saints, Allen faced the Rams two times from 2022-2023 and went 1-1 in those contests against McVay. He lost the last game 30-22 but the game was especially ugly as the Rams were up 30-7 going into the final seven minutes and it was the worst game of the Saints entire 2023 season in terms of EPA on defense.
Allen was fired prior to New Orleans facing the Rams in 2024.
But Allen was also Sean Payton’s defensive coordinator on the Saints from 2015-2021 and faced the Rams five times, including four times against McVay and that playoff loss.
The Rams averaged 27 points per game in those contests against Allen’s defense. The Saints held the Rams to only 23 points in regulation (maybe 20 if they had been called for PI) but McVay wasn’t working with a full deck due to Todd Gurley’s injury, limiting him to just five touches, and the absence of Cooper Kupp.
With a pretty sizeable difference at QB between Jared Goff and Stafford, McVay is much better suited to face Dennis Allen’s defense in 2026.
Allen was asked about McVay before the 2018 NFC Championship and many of the same comments would probably still apply seven years later:
What’s the thing that stands out above (Sean) McVay as a play-caller? If you’re looking at it as a defensive coach, is there anything that stands out?
“I think he is an aggressive play-caller. I think he is always looking for his opportunities to take his shots down the field. I think he does a really good job of mixing things up. I think he does an outstanding job of giving you the same look, but yet running different plays with it. All the play action that comes off. The same running game. The same formations. Then they will do a good job of giving you some window dressing to kind of get your eyes looking at it with some of these fly motions and things of that nature. Kind of get your eyes looking at one spot and then also they are running the ball or running one of these play actions. I think he does a really good job of calling the game. I think they do a great job of setting up the gameplan to try to attack what you do defensively.”
Back then he had to plan for Gurley and C.J. Anderson. Not it’s Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.
Stafford faced Allen’s Saints in 2022 and 2023 and combined for 4 touchdowns with no picks. He was also injured in the 2022 loss, his final game of that season, a game that the Rams probably win if they don’t turn to Bryce Perkins.
Stafford posted his highest adjusted Y/A of the 2023 season against Allen’s Saints.
He was great against New Orleans in 2024 too, but again this was after Allen was let go and replaced by Darren Rizzi as head coach.
Ben Johnson’s experience
As offensive coordinator of the Lions, Johnson had to game plan for Raheem Morris (ironically with Goff as Detroit’s QB) and scored 24 points in a win over L.A..
Amon-Ra St. Brown had 7 catches for 110 yards, but now Johnson’s most dangerous weapon is Colston Loveland.
The Rams very next game was in Detroit in Week 1 of the 2024 season and the Lions won 26-20 in OT, this time against Chris Shula, and this time with Jameson Williams leading the team in yards.
Under the new OT rules, the Rams would have gotten a possession and had a chance to win or tie the game.
The Bears didn’t face the Rams in the regular season, but the coaches are certainly familiar with one another. Johnson has experience of knowing what it’s like to best McVay in a big game. Allen knows that sometimes you can’t interfere with fate.
Category: General Sports
