Sean McVay is the youngest head coach in NFL history. He’s led his team to 3 straight wins, but he has a tough task ahead of him with 4 regular season games left and 2 playoff games as well.
The “Matthew Stafford” is a quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He has been with the team since he was selected as the first overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft.
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ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry
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- For the Los Angeles Times, I covered the Rams for two years.
- Previously, I wrote about the Falcons.
- Has written about the NBA, as well as college football and basketball.
SANTA CLARA (California) – Coach Sean McVay stood at a platform in the bowels of Levi’s Stadium, visibly furious after the Los Angeles Rams lost for the fifth time in a row to the San Francisco 49ers, extending their losing run to two games.
“I prefer to think that who we are now is not who we were in the past couple of weeks,” McVay added. “Even if you’re only as good as your previous game, I refuse to accept that.”
The Rams acquired quarterback Matthew Stafford in the offseason in an evident attempt to win Super Bowl LVI. They redoubled their efforts to establish a championship challenger in the last two weeks, completing a blockbuster deal for All-Pro outside linebacker Von Miller and then signing three-time Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
The Rams, on the other hand, are on their first two-game losing skid of the season following a 31-10 defeat to the 49ers on Monday Night Football, and look to be a club in decline rather than one poised for a long playoff run.
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“As a team, it was a humbling night,” McVay said. “And it’s a fantastic chance for us to take a long breath, stand back, and assess what needs to be fixed.”
Stafford threw back-to-back interceptions in the first quarter for the second straight game. The 49ers turned both interceptions into touchdowns to create a 14-0 lead early in the game that they never relinquished, with the Rams unable to stay up.
The offensive wasn’t the only thing that went wrong.
The Rams’ defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing the 49ers to convert 8 of 14 third-down opportunities and losing the time of possession battle, 39:03 to 20:57.
The Rams dropped to 7-3 with the defeat, squandering a chance to gain ground in the NFC West on the division-leading Arizona Cardinals, who had lost their second game of the season the day before and fell to 8-2.
They’ll now have a Week 11 bye, which they can only hope will provide them with enough time to address the problems that have plagued them lately on offense, defense, and special teams.
Stafford, who completed 26 of 41 passes for 243 yards and a score with two interceptions, said, “We’ll spend some time thinking about it, reflecting on the first 10 games of the year and some of the good things, some of the negative, how I can be better to help lead this team.” “I definitely want to be away for a short while psychologically and come back refreshed and ready to go.”
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (8-2) will be waiting on the other side of the open date, and the Rams will have to meet them at Lambeau Field.
“We’re going to go within and sort this thing out,” McVay added. “And we’re going to come back with a vengeance. These last seven games of the regular season, I assure you.”
In the defeat, both Miller and Beckham made their Rams debuts.
Miller, who was acquired before of the trade deadline earlier this month but was inactive last week as he recovered from an ankle strain, said, “It’s obviously not enjoyable losing, but I had fun tonight.” “Losing isn’t something you want to do, but I’m looking forward to being here and rushing with [Aaron Donald]. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the future.”
Beckham, who signed a free-agent contract just four days before, played 15 snaps, including four in the second half.
Beckham caught two receptions for 18 yards and was targeted on a third throw, but Stafford’s ball was intercepted by safety Jimmie Ward due to a route misunderstanding between Beckham and Stafford.
“It just wasn’t our night,” said Beckham, who is expected to play a key role during the bye after receiver Robert Woods tore his left ACL in practice last week and will miss the rest of the season. “There’s no getting around it. In all three parts of the game, it was just not our night.”
The “49ers” is the team that the Los Angeles Rams lost to yesterday, and they are now 2-3. Sean McVay has been with the team for just over one year, and he says that losing two games in a row is not what they wanted.
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