Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Postgame Press Conference – Nov. 15, 2020

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Postgame Press Conference – November 15, 2020

(Opening Remarks)

“Great team win. Unbelievable job by our defense. (CB) Darious Williams with two unbelievably big picks for us. Second half, the one after the turnover offensively to be able to get that play. This guy shows up in a big way. I thought (CB) Jalen Ramsey was outstanding throughout the course of the day. Didn’t see a lot of action from some of the guys that he was over the top of and just our defense as a whole. You just can’t say enough about what they’ve consistently done, doing it against an offense that’s arguably producing at the highest level in the league right now. Very pleased with them. I thought offensively, I liked the way that we started out the game and then I want to see us be able to make those plays at the end to really close out games and that’s going to be a big point of focus for us. It really was already, but we’ve got the right guys. I thought they came out ready to go. I thought our line protected really well. I thought they created space all day. It was good to be able to get all three runners involved, kind of spread the ball around. (QB) Jared (Goff) did a nice job with that. And then Special Teams, we’ve got to continue to figure out this kicking situation and that’s something that we’re going to definitely address after this.”

(On any updates on OL Andrew Whitworth and what was going through his mind during that time)

“No updates on those guys. (S Taylor) Rapp, (OL Andrew) Whitworth did not return and then (K Kai) Forbath got his foot so don’t have any updates on that.”

(On what was going through his mind when he saw Whitworth go down and what the message was at halftime knowing Whitworth was out)

“Yeah, anytime that you see a player go down it’s awful. Andrew has been so important to us. I don’t know what the extent of the injury is, but this guy is a foundational piece of what we’ve done. He represents all the things that are right about the Rams. I love this guy. I just have a tremendous amount of respect for the human being, the player, I sure hope he’s okay. Anytime that I see one of our guys go down, it gives me that pit in my stomach and I just hope that they’re going to be okay. The amount of work that goes in to be able to produce and play at this level, it’s something that…that’s the worst part of this game for me is seeing guys get injured and that goes for other teams as well. I hate that and I’m hopeful that all those guys that I just mentioned will be okay. Andrew’s a big part of what we do, love him, but I thought (OL) Joe Noteboom did an excellent job stepping up in his absence and offensively did a good job with him in there.”

(On what he thinks about his defense going forward after doing what the team did against the Seahawks)

“I think it’s a great opportunity to be able to continue to build and grow from. This is a great offense, someone that we have a tremendous amount of respect for, but our defense has been stout all year. You know, you can only play the teams that are on your schedule and these guys have done a great job answering the bell week in and week out the turnovers. And really, the second half play. I mean, I can’t say enough about our coaches adjustments and really they were outstanding from the jump, but really just to be able to make some of those adjustments, you see some of the looks that we get protection wise, where guys are unblocked unabated, right to (QB) Russell Wilson. And we’re still being able to play with some good numbers on the back end. I’m just so impressed and so pleased with them. But now we’ve got to keep it going. We’ve got a great opponent again in the Buccaneers on Monday night coming up.”

(On if he feels like defense is becoming the identity of the team with the way that it played the first nine weeks and how that changes how he coaches)

“Yeah, it’s definitely been the strength of our team, but we are a team. I’ve been so pleased with them and that’s something that has been consistent and really remained true through the first nine games that we’ve had. So, very pleased, but what I do want to see is a complete team. I think that we were really on the verge of showing that where the way that our offense came out, the way that we played and I think we’re a couple plays away. It feels like that could be a 35, 40 point game, but it wasn’t, and we’re never going to make excuses. We’ve just got to be a little bit better and that’s collectively, but it’s about winning the football game. That’s definitely the main focus and concentration. In a lot of instances if you’re playing with a lead against a player of Russell Wilson’s caliber and an offense that’s so explosive, you’re really just fighting against the clock when you’ve got a 10 point lead with a handful of minutes left in that game. So, it does change the approach a little bit, because it is about winning the game, but I’ve just been so pleased with them and I’m really happy for this team. I love the mental toughness, I love the resilience of this team, and I’m looking forward to seeing if we can go get another one against the Buccaneers next week.”

(On his thoughts on RB Cam Akers and how he played today)

“He did a nice job. I thought there was really good space all day and I thought he leveled some runs off fairly well. I think he ended up getting about 10 carries. He did good and we are going to continue to look at this film and we can all be a little bit better as well.”