Sean McVay has won a Super Bowl and lost one, but his coaching performance this season was perhaps his best ever. After the Rams started the year 1-4, they climbed all the way back to a 10-7 record, won a playoff game and took the 14-win Eagles to the wire in the divisional round.
But just when it seemed like they were going to complete one of the craziest comebacks in playoff history, Matthew Stafford’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete and the game was all but over.
The Rams lost to the Eagles, 28-22, on Sunday afternoon in snowy Philadelphia, a heartbreaking defeat on the road – even though few people outside of Los Angeles thought McVay’s group was capable of pulling off the upset. It was a sudden end to a magical season, and McVay was gutted when speaking to the media afterwards.
“Congratulations to the Eagles,” McVay began. “Tough, hard-fought game. Give them credit, they made enough plays to win the game but man, I’m damn proud to be associated with this football team. I didn’t see it going any other way than us winning that game, 29-28. I think this game in a lot of ways epitomized the grit, the ability to overcome adversity. Just had a couple things that we couldn’t overcome. There will be some things that we can learn from, but this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation. I love this group, I love this coaching staff, I love these players. And I also understand and appreciate how difficult it is to be in positions like this where you’ve got the game in hand – I feel like we had total control toward the latter part of that game – momentum was in our favor and we had an opportunity to win that game and we just came up short.”
There’s no question the Eagles played well and did enough to win that game, but you could argue the Rams outplayed them. They outgained the Eagles, 402-350, had two more first downs, ran nine more plays and almost matched Philadelphia in time of possession.
McVay gave the Eagles plenty of credit, but he knows his team was capable of winning that game.
“Give the Eagles credit, it’s an excellent football team. They were able to make enough plays, but love this group and I’m just really sad that this journey is over,” he continued. “This was a special season. It’s as much fun as I’ve had, as much as you’ve ever wanted to do right for the people in that locker room. We’ve had a lot of special teams, but this team, there was something special about them. I think I’m up here pretty shocked because I know a lot of people didn’t think we could come in here, but we had the full expectation to come in here. And I don’t think anybody expected the end of the season to be right now. The finality of it is tough for me to swallow because of the love and appreciation I have for this group.
What really cost the Rams were their two turnovers in the second half: a fumble by Kyren Williams and a fumble by Matthew Stafford. That handed the Eagles six points, which was the difference in the game.
“But you give Philly credit, they did their thing, made enough plays and obviously Saquon (Barkley) was excellent today,” McVay said. “I think the two turnovers were really costly, but I’m not going to make any excuses and I’m proud of our team.”
The Rams would’ve given the Commanders a great fight in the NFC title game and they would’ve been at home, to boot. But instead, they’ll head back to Los Angeles and start their offseason work, preparing for another run in 2025.
