Against all odds, Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams clinched a playoff berth despite the roster turnover in the offseason.
The Rams weren’t given much of a chance earlier this year, but McVay and the coaching staff did an excellent job growing and developing a scrappy roster of players.
Los Angeles can either claim the No. 6 seed if they beat the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18, or they’ll fall to the No. 7 seed if they lose and the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears.
Regardless of what happens, though, McVay isn’t worried about seeding.
“I think when you look at the projections, I think they are excellent teams regardless,” McVay said. “There are a couple layers to it and when you look at it, what we’ve just felt like was this approach is the best one for our team. You want to see guys go compete and do well, but that was what we felt like and no matter whether… I know what could occur…everything occurs, and you think you know and you just don’t, right? Taking all that into consideration didn’t really feel like the other side of it to try to do something to maintain the sixth or know you could be the seventh was best for our team.”
Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Kyren Williams are healthy scratches for the 49ers game and McVay said the players took the decision in stride.
“Well, I think what you want to understand is, alright, are any of these guys potentially affected from some incentives? Matthews played long enough. He’s had so much success and earned all the accolades and the credit that he gets, but I think he understands the big picture, as does an Aaron and a Cooper and these guys that have played a lot of football.
“I think they understood the approach. You always talk through those things with those guys, but you are mindful of, alright, are there potential incentives? Going back to even 2017 my first year here when it was kind of, alright, you might be the three or the four and we felt like resting some guys. The thing that was unfortunate is (former RB) Todd (Gurley) was the leading rusher in the league. (RB) Kareem Hunt gets one carry, they get him out so you’re cognizant of all of those things and you try to manage it the best that you can, but Matthew was great about it. He understood. These guys all want to play and that’s the best thing about it.
“Then I think when you explain to them what my thought process and our thought process as coaches were, they’re totally supportive and we have to still have a really good week of preparation. This isn’t like a preseason game. This is, hey, we have to take steps in the right direction. The guys that are playing need to be ready to go and understand that it is about continuously improving and then ultimately those guys that aren’t do a great job leading, continuing to prepare and then being ready to go when the Wild Card comes around.”
All in all, it sounds like McVay and the players are on the same page though a win against San Francisco would be a great momentum boost heading into the playoffs.
Regardless of what seed they are, the Rams will play either the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions or Philadelphia Eagles in the first round depending on what happens in Week 18.
Rams coach Sean McVay discusses plan for Puka Nacua in Week 18
Puka Nacua has a chance to set history in Week 18 as he’s on the verge of breaking multiple rookie wide receiver records. While resting him would be the safer move, McVay is allowing Nacua to try and make history.
