Rams' Sean McVay Admits He Pays ‘A Lot of Attention’ to Playoff Picture
Even if coaches talk about controlling what you can control, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay can't help but look at the playoff standings and how it could affect his team in the coming weeks.
“I pay a lot of attention to it,” McVay admitted. “I tell myself not to get emotionally invested in these games and then you get invested and then you’re saying, ‘Why the hell did I do that?’"
USA Today
The Rams will enter Week 17 with an 8-7 record, and in control of the sixth playoff spot in the NFC. If a top-heavy Los Angeles team is able to make the playoffs a year after going just 5-12, it would arguably be the best job that McVay has done since taking over as coach of the Rams in 2017.
But the Rams still have two remaining games, and the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears all remain alive in the NFC playoff picture. If the Rams don't take care of business over the final two weeks of the regular season, most of the positive vibes from this season will dissipate.
Week 17's tilt with the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium will take on greater importance considering the Rams have the San Francisco 49ers looming in Week 18. Perhaps if the 49ers have already locked up the No. 1 seed, they'll call off the dogs in the final week of the season. But you don't want to bank on that, and if the 49ers are playing their starters in Week 18, that will likely be an uphill battle for the Rams.
And so, taking care of business in Week 17 against the 5-10 Giants -- who will be starting Tyrod Taylor at quarterback -- is of the utmost importance.
"So here’s what I’ll tell you though, what I do know is true is that we’ve got to continue to focus on what we can control and that’s the Giants," McVay said. "I’m very aware of all the things that are going on, but I do think it’s important to not let that take away from the task at hand because you can get caught up with other stuff and playing the ‘what if’ game.
"What I think the best thing this team has done is they have focused on what they can control to put themselves in a position to even have the conversations that we’re having right now about playing meaningful ball in December and up into January. And so that’s been our goal."
While the season doesn't end today, if it did, quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams would head into Detroit to face off with Jared Goff and the Lions, a game that would probably be the juiciest matchup on Wild Card Weekend.
