The NFL wrote off the Los Angeles Rams before the 2023 season even began as people looked at the roster and immediately said they didn’t have the talent or depth to compete against the rest of the league.
However, the Rams quieted some doubters in Week 1 when they marched up north and took an impressive victory over the NFC West rivals the Seattle Seahawks. Media members and fans didn’t have high expectations for Los Angeles, but they came out and made a statement on both ends of the field in order to start the year 1-0.
Offensively, Matthew Stafford looked completely healthy as he was able to push the ball downfield to his young receiving core. Both Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua came up with over 100 receiving yards, while some of the rookies like Byron Young and Kobie Turner made plays on defense at the end of the fourth quarter.
In the locker room, Sean McVay was captured giving a passionate speech about the team’s performance while Stafford told his teammates that he doesn’t care what the outside has to say about the roster when he broke down the huddle:
"Don't you change at all — don't you change! Love you guys!"
🗣️ Coach McVay's first Victory Speech of the season! pic.twitter.com/NL9oGmWoM4
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) September 11, 2023
McVay looks noticeably more animated than he did last season when the team was struggling to rack up wins, so the emotions were warranted. As for Stafford, he and the rest of the roster have had to hear all offseason about how Los Angeles had fallen off and that no one believed in them this season so safe to assume that all the players have a chip on their shoulder.
All offseason, Los Angeles was quietly confident that they would be able to shock the world and they took the first step in doing that with a quality win over Seattle. If Week 1 was any indication, then the Rams will be a lot more competitive than people originally anticipated.
Jets & other teams inquired about trading for Matthew Stafford but Rams refused
After another injury-riddled season, there was some talk that Los Angeles would look to offload Stafford via trade and really kickstart their rebuild.
Even though Stafford only managed to appear in nine games during 2022, teams like the Jets were reportedly interested in acquiring him. However, the Rams refused as they remain committed to the veteran as their quarterback.
