THOUSAND OAKS — Rams coach Sean McVay was asked why it’s been tough for his team to get a win against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, a venue they have departed on the losing side for three consecutive games.
McVay offered this coach cliche: “Each game is its own separate entity.”
True, games are different, but there are often similarities in a string of games, especially between the NFC West rivals who played each other three times last season, including in the NFC championship game.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said it’s always tough playing against the 49ers and outside linebacker Terrell Lewis is expecting another dog fight in their “Monday Night Football” matchup.
They’re probably right. It’s likely going to be another battle, and if the Rams are able to escape Santa Clara with an ugly low-scoring victory that would be OK with McVay because it’s always tough winning in the NFL – another popular cliche among coaches.
Lately, McVay has been utilizing “a win is a win” to describe the outcomes of the past two games against the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. They nearly blew a 25-point advantage and needed a game-saving interception from Jalen Ramsey to get past the Falcons in Week 2. Last week, the Rams’ offense was held to seven points in the second half and needed an onside kick recovery to secure the road victory in Arizona.
The Rams have had sloppy performances amid a slew of injuries, but if this is the extent of their Super Bowl hangover, they’ll likely take the 2-1 start with a one-sided loss to the Buffalo Bills if it means they’re on the verge of waking up.
“I don’t ever want to minimize the standards we have for playing good, efficient football throughout four quarters,” McVay said. “I still think that our best football … we haven’t begun to see that. I want us to play at a higher clip throughout the course of four quarters, but I don’t want that to minimize what’s the best way to play the game to win the game.”
Defensive stars Aaron Donald and Bobby Wagner were pleased about containing Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and limiting Arizona’s downfield shots, but they dwelled on the 81 plays and four field goals, despite keeping the Cardinals out of the end zone in the 20-12 victory last week.
“We did a lot of good things, but obviously I think there are some things that we still need to clean up,” Donald said after the win against the Cardinals. “It wasn’t perfect, but we found a way to win and that’s the most important thing, so we can build off that and correct those things.”
Stafford focused on not putting the Cardinals away after opening a 13-0 advantage and McVay was hoping to see 30-plus points, but the Rams (2-1) might not be thinking about style points if they beat the 49ers (1-2) on the road for the first time since 2018.
“I don’t really care what’s happened the first three weeks,” McVay said Thursday. “We know what to expect from this group.”
The 49ers handily defeated the Rams, 31-10, at Levi’s Stadium last year in another “Monday Night Football” game that was also the Rams debuts for receiver Odell Beckham and linebacker Von Miller. The Rams, however, won the most important game of the series by capturing the NFC title before winning the Super Bowl, but they’re itching for a road victory against their in-state rivals.
“It’s always a statement game between us two,” Lewis said. “We know what type of battle this is. It’s going to be a dog fight on Monday Night for prime time. We know how it went last time we played them Monday night, so we got a chip on our shoulder. I’m sure they got a chip on their shoulder and it’s another divisional battle.”
The 49ers have had their own issues with young quarterback Trey Lance suffering a season-ending injury. They are coming off an ugly loss to the Denver Broncos with familiar face Jimmy Garoppolo now under center.
These teams don’t care what happened in the first three weeks. They’re just ready for another intense showdown.
“What I think is consistent is there are great players on the field,” McVay said.
INJURY UPDATES
Rookie cornerback Derion Kendrick remains in the concussion protocol, but he was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice.
“He’s making great progress,” McVay said. “Don’t anticipate any setbacks and expect him to be available this week.”
Center Brian Allen (knee), safety Jordan Fuller (hamstring) and cornerbacks David Long (groin) and Cobie Durant (hamstring) didn’t practice.