Rams suddenly must overcome this 55-year obstacle to reach the Super Bowl

The Los Angeles Rams now know exactly who they'll be lined up to play in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday, if they manage to take care of business against the Chicago Bears in Sunday's Divisional Round matchup – and it's a familiar opponent, to say the very least.

The NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks crushed the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 41-6 to punch their first ticket to the NFC title game since the 2014-15 postseason.

With the Seahawks possessing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, Sean McVay and the No. 5 seed Rams would have to head to Lumen Field next weekend if they beat the No. 2 seed NFC North champion Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.

The Rams played in Seattle back in Week 16 and lost by a score of 38-37 in overtime after losing a 30-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

But while the Rams' history at Lumen Field is far from terrible – they've won seven of their 12 most recent contests there against their NFC West rivals dating back to 2015, including one in the postseason – they'd have to pull off a task next weekend that has never been achieved before in NFL history.

Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, no team that plays their home games in a dome has ever won an outdoor conference championship game. AFC dome teams are 0-6, and NFC dome teams are 0-9.

Here's a look at this incredible 15-game history over the past 55 years.

Indoor teams in outdoor NFL conference championship games

One thing worth noting is the fact that Texas Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys from 1971 to 2008, is considered an outdoor stadium because of its famous massive hole in the roof, a hole that remained after plans for a retractable roof were scrapped.

For that reason, the Cowboys' three NFC Championship Game road wins at outdoor stadiums during the years they played their home games at Texas Stadium do not count against this streak. Likewise, their five losses at other outdoor stadiums during the years they played there do not count toward it.

On the flip side, the one loss by an indoor road team in an NFC Championship Game contested at Texas Stadium – the Minnesota Vikings' 23-6 defeat in January 1978 – is counted as an outdoor loss and therefore does count toward this streak. In fact, it's the game that started it.

'Dome' and gloom?

What's also interesting to note is the fact that very rarely have the dome teams even come close to winning on the road, with just three one-possession games and only three others that were decided by two scores.

Of course, some of that might have to do with the obvious fact that the home teams should have an advantage, especially in the playoffs. But it's not as if road teams never win playoff games; road teams have actually won 35 conference title games.

And as a counterpoint, this isn't even necessarily a "bad weather" stat; a number of these outdoor games were not played in winter weather, including the most recent example in Santa Clara, California.

For the Rams, who have called SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California home since 2020, it would be a massive uphill battle to overcome, if they even get a chance to attempt it.

Their first goal is to take care of business on Sunday night against the Bears, and that's a game for which forecasted bad weather has become a consistent talking point. That game is set to be McVay's 15th postseason game, and all 15 will have come against different opponents.

That streak is one that would end before reaching 16 if the Rams pull off the road victory, as they faced Seattle during the 2020-21 postseason.

Should they end up back in the Emerald City next Sunday, could they stop another historic streak from reaching 16 with what would be the first ever victory for a dome team in an outdoor conference title game?

Either way, there are no two ways around it: if the Rams are to compete in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium three weeks from now, they are going to have to end a daunting streak that has existed since the merger.

And Sunday's Rams-Bears game is set to determine whether or not they get that chance. NBC and Peacock are set to provide live coverage from Soldier Field beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT.

Notably, a Houston Texans victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday (12:00 p.m. PT on ESPN) would also give them an opportunity to end this streak in the AFC Championship Game on the road against the Denver Broncos.