Turn The Page: Rams’ McVay, Stafford Seek ‘Bounce Back’ From Bills Beatdown
The Los Angeles Rams began their Thursday evening by unfurling a banner atop the facade of SoFi Stadium to celebrate their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Just a few short hours later, they were reminded of the target which now adorns them for the rest of the NFL.
To put it mildly, the defending champions’ 2022 season-opener did not exactly go according to plan. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen passed for 297 yards while accounting for four touchdowns, while his Rams’ counterpart Matthew Stafford was sacked seven times. All in all, the Bills walked away with a 31-10 victory over Los Angeles on Thursday night in Inglewood.
While soul-searching will make the Rams stronger, they are not about to engage in finger-pointing. Whether it be possible malaise from a dreaded ‘Super Bowl’ hangover or the magnitude of the moment, coach Sean McVay is not buying into it. He has confidence in his team’s ability to bounce back.
Most importantly, he continued to have faith in his quarterback.
“[He’s] a guy that just continued to compete,” McVay said of Stafford in his postgame remarks to the media. “He's a tough-minded guy, standing in there, no flinch, getting hit a lot and didn't have a whole lot of time … There were a couple unfortunate balls that get tipped up, but those are some of those things I know he is going to continue to compete. I love Matthew [Stafford] and we're going to keep riding.”
Stafford finished the night passing for 240 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. However, the stat for which he will be most remembered in this matchup was absorbing seven sacks from Buffalo’s defense. His former Rams teammate, linebacker Von Miller had two of them.
The Bills' seven sacks were the most allowed in McVay's tenure with the Rams. In fact, Buffalo did not need to blitz once to keep Stafford in their grasp. As a result, the Rams’ quarterback found himself ill-protected for most of the night by a new-look offensive line. Still, Stafford would not place the blame on anyone but himself, while giving credit to the Bills' defense.
“They [Buffalo] did a nice job,” Stafford told reporters following the game. “I think if we're a little bit more efficient on first down, second down, and get ourselves into some favorable situations…I can obviously be more efficient. If I'm more efficient, those drives are a little bit longer.”
Despite losing two starters from 2021 [left tackle Andrew Whitworth (retirement) and right guard Austin Corbett (free agency)], the Rams remain steadfast in their beliefs that better execution along the offensive line will lead to better output; both on the line and the skill positions.
In short, Los Angeles’ struggles are fixable … and McVay plans on starting with himself.
“I think it's a combination of a lot of things,” McVay said. “I think first and foremost, I look at myself inwardly. ‘Did you give yourself a chance to settle into a rhythm or were they able to tee off?’ There were some instances where we're on our silent count, they did a good job being able to jump the count.”
“Bottom line is we've all got to be a little bit better,” he added. “Like I said, it starts with me and I got to do a better job of putting our players in better spots to have success, to get into the feel and the flow of a game. We never were really able to settle in offensively and I take a huge responsibility in that.”
The Rams, who lost a season opener and fell below .500 for the first time in coach Sean McVay's six seasons at the helm, will regroup on the practice fields this week before hosting the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 on Sunday, Sept. 18 at SoFi Stadium.
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