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Sara Barshop
Chicago – The Los Angeles Rams Heading to the NFC Championship Game to play Seattle SeahawksThis despite what head coach Sean McVay called “some poor coaching” from him in Sunday night’s 20–17 win over the Bears.
The Rams offense, a unit that led the league in offensive DVOA during the regular season, struggled to get into a rhythm for most of the game.
“Offensively, man, I didn’t do a very good job for our group tonight,” McVay said. “But I thought our guys were able to overcome it.”
After scoring a touchdown on their opening possession with a 14-play 85-yard drive, the Rams had only 174 yards at the end of the third quarter. According to ESPN Research, this was his fewest yards at the end of the third quarter in a game this season.
“I didn’t like the feeling of the flow of the game outside of the first series, where our guys did a great job,” McVay said. “Defensively, it kept us in it despite how bad a job I did for my group. But like I said, I’m really thankful for this group finding a way, sticking to it, and being able to overcome some bad coaching from me tonight.”
Rams quarterback Matthew StaffordHe completed 20 of 42 passes for 258 yards against the Bears, throwing for a league-leading 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns during the regular season. According to ESPN Research, Stafford failed to throw a touchdown for only the second time in his playoff career. This was the first time Stafford failed to throw multiple passing touchdowns in a playoff start for the Rams.
“I definitely didn’t get into a good rhythm today,” Stafford said. “No question about it. I had some opportunities in the pass game, just some things that made it tough. Obviously I could have been better.
“But playoff football is about winning football games. Played very well, threw the ball for a lot of yards on the ice last year and we lost, so it sucks. So I’m glad I played a little bad today and am going home with a win. So we’ll accept that.”
According to ESPN Research, Stafford made 11 off-target throws on Sunday, which is tied for his most as a member of the Rams.
But despite struggling on offense most of the night, Stafford led the Rams to his 55th career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, 11 more than the next closest player since entering the NFL in 2009.
The Rams’ win sent them to the NFC title game for the first time since Los Angeles won Super Bowl LVI during the 2021 season. The Rams will play the No. 1 seed Seahawks, who beat san francisco 49ers To advance 41-6 on Saturday night.
“[We’ve] Gotta play your best,” McVay said. “You saw that game last night. They are firing on all cylinders. They look really good and I’m excited to be able to dive into this tape and figure out how we can improve.”
The Rams split the season series in Seattle, winning 21–19 at home in Week 11 and losing 38–37 in overtime in Week 16. The Rams led 30–14 in the fourth quarter of the Week 16 game.
Rams wide receiver puka nakuawho had five catches for 56 yards on Sunday, said it seems fair that Los Angeles will head back to Seattle next week for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
“I guess there’s no way the football gods would want us to go back there and see the All Father [Cooper Kupp] And we’ll get a chance to fix our mistakes,” Nakua said. “So it’s going to be a big challenge for us and we’re excited about it.”
