Winners and Losers: Where Do Rams, Sean McVay Fall After 2023 Season?
Few expected the Los Angeles Rams to merely stay competitive in the playoff hunt, much less make the playoffs. Their Super Bowl aspirations ended in a Wild Card Round defeat to the Detroit Lions after a 10-win regular season.
The Rams fell short of their ultimate goal, but so did 30 other teams. Are their moral victories worth celebrating?
According to Sports Illustrated’s 2023 winners and losers article, Los Angeles can rest assured that this season was, in fact, a success.
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
“Coach Sean McVay did a sensational job getting a roster filled with rookies and newcomers to mesh together for an impressive midseason turnaround,” Gilberto Manzano wrote. “The Los Angeles Rams still have [Matthew] Stafford, Aaron Donald, and Cooper Kupp, but a dominant rookie class that featured wide receiver Puka Nacua was instrumental in helping Los Angeles return to the playoffs.”
It would be impossible to explain the Rams' re-ascension into relevancy without acknowledging its core of young players.
Nacua, of course, set the pace by breaking the rookie records for catches (105) and receiving yards (1,486). But he wasn’t alone. Second-year running back Kyren Williams exploded onto the scene. After rushing for 35 attempts and 139 yards as a rookie, Williams became McVay’s shiny new toy – producing over 1,350 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, rookie edge rusher Byron Young and defensive tackle Kobie Turner supported Donald and helped Los Angeles’ front become much more formidable. Despite a vulnerability to the explosive play, the Rams held their own and did enough to support a Stafford-led offense.
Los Angeles’ success helped make its coaching staff amongst the most coveted in the sport, but McVay’s ability to build a staff may be second to none. How his renewed staff handles the challenges of the upcoming season may be the biggest factor in returning as a “winner” on next year’s list.
