Sean McVay addresses special teams and Jared Goff’s performance after Rams beat Lions

The Rams make the big plays when it counts most to beat the Lions

The Los Angeles Rams were able to hold of the Detroit Lions by a final score of 28-19. It was an emotionally charged game with so many players and personnel previously being a member of the other team. After the game Head Coach Sean McVay touched on some those emotions, as well as his thoughts on Detroit’s aggressive special teams, Robert Rochell’s injury, and Jared Goff’s performance.

McVay on Detroit’s special teams gambles

“That was not stuff we were surprised by, but we didn’t execute and they did. They ended up creating a bunch of momentum, ended up having two fake punts and a surprise onside kick. Both of those things were things that we did anticipate and expect.”

The special teams were anything but special, allowing two fake punts to move the chains and a successful onside kick recovery. It’s been a bit of a rough season on special teams. They cannot afford to have another performance like this going forward, especially against better competition.

McVay on offense having a faster start, despite only three first half possessions

“I think overall it’s hard because you only have really three possessions in the first half. You end up with two touchdowns and one field goal. Thought we did a good job.”

The Rams scored on all three of their first half possessions, not including kneeling on the ball to get to halftime. It’s an improvement in terms of the offense starting slow in some of the previous weeks. McVay did note that they started the second half slow, unable to capitalize on getting the ball first in the third quarter. It would be nice to see Los Angeles pair a fast start with second half dominance against lesser teams. Next week against the Houston Texans is the last chance before the schedule gets tough again.

McVay on Stafford staying steady against his former team

“I saw the same guy I’ve seen. Steady, great performer. He was great in the clutch. And really, even when things weren’t going well, he just stays nice and even keeled, and that’s what a great quarter back does.”

Stafford did not appear to let the emotions of playing against his former team get to him. Also, congratulations to Stafford on throwing over 300 career passing touchdowns, and doing it against the Lions.

Robert Rochell suffers a knee injury, but should be ok

“I think he’s going to be ok, Jourdan. I haven’t talked to Reggie and his group, but I did talk to Robert; he said the initial tests checked out well. I’ll be able to give you further clarity tomorrow.”

The rookie cornerback was forced from the game with a knee injury in the first half and was unable to return. Hopefully Rochell won’t miss too much time, if any.

McVay thought Jared Goff played well against Rams

“I thought he did a great job, Gary. He handled it well; made a couple big time throws…I wasn’t surprised. He did a good job. Credit to him.”

Goff had a turnover free game until late in the fourth quarter, where he was intercepted to close out the final two drives. He and McVay shortly embraced after the game, with the Rams head coach saying he will get a hold of Goff later.

Stafford on if there were any extra emotions prior to duel with Detroit

“No, it’s just good to see them. I just haven’t seen those guys in a while. Talk to them on texts and all of that kind of stuff. Just good to see their faces.”

Stafford had another big game, passing for 334 yards. He completed 28-of-41 pass attempts and three touchdowns against his former team.

Sebastian Joseph-Day gets the sack, but gives the credit to teammates

“Honestly, the sack I had it was crazy because we all thought that he threw it because he pump faked so fast…That play goes out to Flo (Leonard Floyd), goes out to A’Shawn (Robinson) and A.D. (Aaron Donald) for that pressure. Those guys were rushing their asses off today.”

Joseph-Day is a character. His portion of the interview begins at 24:05 and doesn’t last long. Check it out if you have time.

Kupp catches a couple touchdowns

“We got the look we wanted. Van did a great job. It’s really all on Van to be able to occupy the inside defender, Matthew being able to navigate the edge, our right tackle right guard being able snatch guys, keep their hands down. I just have to catch the ball. “

Once again Kupp broke the century mark, going for 156 yards on ten catches. He also added two more touchdowns to his 2021 total, which now sits at nine.

Kupp acknowledges improvement on third down

“Coaches did a good job putting a good plan together for us. Throughout the week we had a lot of stuff to really work through and did a great job kind of trimming, giving us a more streamlined approach of what we wanted to do. I think guys just executed.”

After struggling on third down the past two weeks, the Rams converted nine of their 13 attempts on the money down. Kupp previously said the offense has been “atrocious” on third down, so converting at 69 percent Sunday was a welcome sight.

Ramsey on his end zone interception

“I had the tight end and they ran like double post and I just was able to undercut it and make a play on the ball. That was it. A.D. got good pressure so he probably forced the pass.”

Ramsey got his second interception of the season at the most opportune time of the game. With Goff and the Lions offense driving to potentially take the lead late in the fourth quarter, Donald put a big hit on Detroit’s quarterback as Goff threw the ball into the end zone with the score 25-19 L.A. The birthday boy made a nice, full extension interception to all but seal the deal.

Ramsey on the defense’s performance

“I guess we think differently on that. They only had one touchdown today, the rest were field goals. Their run game did pretty well. They had couple good passes here and there, but I don’t think we struggled.”

Ramsey respectfully disagreed with the notion that Goff handled the Rams’ defensive pressure well when he was asked if the defense was ever frustrated. Without blaming the special teams, he did note that the defense got Goff off the field twice, but were forced back on after two successful fake punts.