Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams: 3 Critical matchups in Divisional Round

Sean McVay vs. Kris Richard

Sean McVay was hired by the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and in that season, he ended up winning the NFC West in his first year as head coach. The team that was favored to win it was the Seattle Seahawks, who had defensive coordinator Kris Richard.

There were two battles between the offensive-minded McVay and Richard that season. In Week 5, Seattle held the Rams to just 10 points as Richard got the best of them. In Week 15, things fell apart for the ‘Hawks as Los Angeles put up 42 points in a lopsided win.

Now, these two will again face one another as Richard is the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Cowboys. Richard may not have the title of defensive coordinator, but he calls the plays for the Dallas defense and has done so well that he’s likely in line for a head coaching job this offseason.

He can strengthen his resume this weekend as he goes toe-to-toe once again with McVay, who has become the poster boy for the future of NFL head coaches.

In this game, it likely comes down to these two. McVay has had two weeks to put a plan together for this game and Richard will do all he can to counter it. He will need to be ready for many exotic looks and if he’s not on top of his game, this one could get ugly.

While these two won’t be wearing pads and lining up on the field, there’s no matchup that will matter more to the outcome of this Divisional Round game.