The Los Angeles Rams got into the win column for the first time this season after defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 31-27, at SoFi Stadium in Week 2.
After coming out flat against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Rams looked more like themselves and took a comfortable 21-3 lead into halftime.
L.A. at one point held a 28-3 lead but nearly coughed it up in the fourth quarter due to turnovers. Atlanta blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to make it a one-possession game with under five minutes remaining.
Cooper Kupp then fumbled on the ensuing possession, giving the Falcons the ball at the Rams’ 37-yard line with a chance to take the lead. “Yeah, really it was just turnovers,” head coach Sean McVay said of what went wrong in the final 12 minutes of play.
“I mean really it was turnovers. We really had to punt one time today and we saw how that worked out. So we gave them a lot of opportunities, but again, don’t take away the credit that they deserve for being able to make those plays. But we’ve got to be more poised and more resilient. That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re not going to run away from some of the things that we didn’t do well today.
“But we’re also not going to allow ourselves to do anything other than appreciate being able to come away with a win and what we know is such a competitive league. So there’s a lot of different things. I mean it’s very uncharacteristic, but it happened and we still found a way. Unless they tell me that you get more points for being able to win by more points, I don’t really care if we found a way to be able to get it done.
“That’s how I know I’m maturing because I would’ve been grumpy before on this thing. But holy hell, I need a couple drinks.”
While McVay was disappointed by the late turnovers, he praised his players for getting off to a good start. “I would say that we came out and did a great job of really being able to assert control of the game and then we relinquished it because of self-inflicted wounds,” McVay said.
“But we had enough mental toughness, physical toughness to be able to find a way to still finish it out and come away with the win.
“So for that I’m proud and I’m excited about attacking some of these things that we’ve got to be able to fix if we want to go where we want to go. But after two weeks, we lost a Buffalo, found a way to be able to get it done against what I believe is a very tough, physical football team, and then we’ll move forward to next week.”
After splitting their first two games at home, the Rams will now head to Arizona for the first of two straight divisional games on the road.
