Sean McVay 'Energized' Despite Los Angeles Rams' Tiring Performance
Uncertainty and the Los Angeles Rams go hand-in-hand. From bouncing between cities to bouncing between quarterbacks, it’s only a matter of time before the franchise finds itself facing another future-altering question.
Just a year after winning the Super Bowl, the Rams finished a woefully disappointing season, sending head coach Sean McVay from the top of the mountain to the start of a rebuild with a cloudy future at best.
Having achieved all there is to achieve and having a commentating job all but locked up, McVay could have stepped away and left Los Angeles with an aging quarterback and a roster with little in the form of experience.
McVay celebrates a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.
He decided to stay, and—like most things in this league—the situation was not as bad as it seemed.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford returned healthy and is playing good football, he was gifted a second star receiver in Puka Nacua during the third day of the draft. That inexperienced defense that looked like the league’s worst on paper has performed at a slightly below-average clip.
However, it’s clear the Rams still have a lot of work cut out for them. A laundry list of injuries has made life difficult, and after a 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, they fell to 3-4.
McVay was asked after the frustrating defeat about his energy level.
“I feel very energized,” McVay said. “I feel very disappointed right now in the moment because there’s always things that you want to do to be able to help these guys do well and have success. You eat yourself up as a coach.”
After Stafford completed just 14-of-29 passes on Sunday and receiver Cooper Kupp was held to just two catches and 29 yards, it’s reasonable to expect the playcaller to be upset. The Week 7 loss was both preventable and damaging to the Rams’ playoff hopes. Special teams miscues and a lack of down-to-down consistency on offense allowed a beleaguered Pittsburgh offense to keep things close and, ultimately, come out on top.
With a game against the tough Dallas Cowboys up next, things can get messy quickly for Los Angeles. Regardless, McVay was adamant about his dedication to this team.
“This is a blessing. I love it,” he continued. “I’m having a whole lot of fun. The challenges are what you really love about the NFL and I’m excited about responding to this challenge because these setbacks … they’re setups for an opportunity to be able to respond.”
Responding next week means limiting the impact of superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons. They failed a similar challenge against Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, even if he didn’t record a sack. Staying ahead of Dallas’ defense, while containing quarterback Dak Prescott—coming off his most dynamic performance of the year—won’t be easy.
McVay wouldn’t want it that way.
“I absolutely love this,” McVay concluded. “I love working with this team and we’re going to keep swinging.”
