CHICAGO — With almost any question after the Rams’ 20-17 overtime victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, head coach Sean McVay turned it into a moment of self-reflection for his own play-calling performance in the divisional round.
Asked about Cobie Durant’s two-interception performance, McVay’s answer quickly detoured into the three-and-out by his offense that immediately succeeded the second turnover. Or when prompted to speak about how the team responded from Caleb Williams’ improbable game-tying touchdown pass at the end of regulation, McVay was soon thinking about his failure to gain a first down to open overtime.
“I was really kicking myself because I felt like when we possessed the ball first, I thought that possession really was going to cost us,” McVay said after the game. “There’s no excuse for that. I have to be better for our group, I will be better for our group.”
Excluding the kneel down at the end of regulation, the Rams had 11 possessions on Sunday. Four were three-and-outs, and four others lasted six plays or fewer. Only two ended in touchdowns, their opening possession and their first in the fourth quarter.
The common thread for those two drives was a heavy dose of running the ball. Four carries for 18 yards on the opener, then eight for 29 on the second, both ending in Kyren Williams rushing touchdowns.
But on the Rams’ other 10 full possessions, the Rams averaged 1.8 rushes per series. And the Rams did not utilize the two-back rotation of Williams and Blake Corum that has been so successful this season, with Corum receiving only three snaps and one carry in the first half.
All despite icy conditions that led to sloppy passing by both teams’ quarterbacks.
“I did not like the feel for the flow of the game that I had outside of the first series, where our guys did a great job defensively and kept us in despite how poor of a job I did for our group,” McVay said in a full and raw stream of consciousness Sunday night. “I’m really grateful for this group to find a way, stick with it and be able to overcome some bad coaching by me tonight.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford said he never felt he got into a rhythm on Sunday, either, completing 20 of 42 attempts for 258 yards.
The snow made it difficult for both teams to move the ball through the air, but the Rams also struggled to deal with the defensive back blitzes that the Bears and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen deployed leading to two of Chicago’s four sacks.
“There were some things we can do better and I can communicate a little bit better to help make sure we’re in the right spot,” Stafford said. “They did a nice job mixing it up on us. Tough environment to communicate in.”
The day after a game, McVay typically goes through each play and evaluates the real-time thought process, how that aligned with preparations made during the week of game planning and practice and whether or not his decisions set players up for success.
He tries to separate whether or not the play was successful, because execution on both sides of the ball plays a factor. Instead, he focuses on whether or not the decision was correct given all the factors at hand.
He went through that evaluation on Monday after the victory over the Bears, and determined that he might have been a little harder on himself Sunday than he needed to be. But he still felt like he needed to do a better job communicating with his players to avoid some of the lapses in execution.
With the Seattle Seahawks and their smothering defense and imposing home-field advantage looming in the NFC championship game next weekend, McVay and the Rams know those are things that have to be cleaned up quickly.
“I can be better for us and we’ll have to be against a phenomenal defense next week,” McVay said Sunday. “There’s no style points. It’s about being able to survive and advance and we were able to do that in a tough, hostile environment.”
INJURY REPORT
Rams outside linebacker Byron Young was limited against the Bears by a sore knee. McVay said the Rams will likely take some precautions with him at practice this week, but it is not expected to impact his availability against the Seahawks.
Similarly, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes injured his shoulder against the Bears but is expected to play against Seattle.