What Impressed Sean McVay Most in Rams' Week 1 Win

It wasn't pretty, but the job got done to open the season. The Los Angeles Rams start the NFL season 1-0 after a physical, competitive, and low-scoring affair with the Houston Texans in a 14-6 victory over C.J. Stroud & Co. This game showcased mistakes, a slow start for both teams, but an encapsulation of the defenses each group provided.

It was a game of mental toughness, one that was needed with the miscues, penalties, and more. Head coach Sean McVay spoke about the toughness of his group of players following Sunday's win over a tough Texans team.

Mental toughness in win a 'separator' moving forward

Late in the game, the Rams needed to make a stop, any sort of play that could give them a chance to close out the bout with a win. They accomplished that, though with some bumps in the road on the path to victory. McVay called having this mental toughness 'big' for all of the peaks and valleys that can occur during the regular season.

"Yeah, and that’s big," McVay said. "Because there are ebbs and flows throughout the course of the season, throughout the course of the games, and especially just today, where you could really feel like there would be a lot of reasons to feel like ‘oh, man, we’re not necessarily finishing some drives.’

"We’re not doing things that are in alignment with maybe what we’ve become accustomed to doing. But what we’re accustomed to doing is hanging in there, staying tough, staying in the fight, finding a way to be able to finish games out."

McVay Ram — Sep 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay after winning the game against Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When it came to the Rams' mental sturdiness at the end of Sunday's game, McVay mentioned the forced fumble by linebacker Nate Landman and recovery by Braden Fiske, the runs by running back Kyren Williams following a penalty, and the key play by Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua made possible by left tackle Alaric Jackson that displayed the toughness of the team and ability to overcome setbacks.

"I thought it was awesome that, you know, you talk about finishing a game and we get the stop when we had to, where Landman gets the timely punch, Fiske makes a great recovery," McVay said. We get a penalty on first down that stops the clock as well. You’re thinking, ‘man, that’s not a good situation to be in.'

"Kyren Williams has two really, really tough runs, and then Matthew and Puka closing the game out. It was an unbelievable job by Alaric Jackson to be able to secure that edge and to allow them to come out with a little fake to his right, boot back out to the left and find Puka as he out-flanked off of a similar action."

The Rams' head coach for nine years called his team's toughness and fortitude a separator for the long season ahead, signalling potential tougher matchups throughout the year.

"I was so proud, and that's something that’s going to be a separator for us if we can continue to callus ourselves in the right way as we navigate through this season."

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