Rams can’t afford to take Week 18 lightly after late stumble
ATLANTA — The last two years, Sean McVay has been happy to let his Rams rest in Week 18 with their trip to the playoffs clinched. Fresh bodies were the most important way to prepare for January.
The head coach also isn’t one to make snap decisions in the aftermath of a game, preferring a day or two to consult with his assistants. But asked after Monday’s 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons whether the Rams’ starters would play in Week 18 against the Arizona Cardinals, McVay did not hesitate.
“We’re playing,” McVay said. “We need to play better football. So I don’t know what the consequences are and those different types of things, but we gotta play better.”
As McVay alluded to, this is not a decision about strategic seeding. If the 49ers beat the Seahawks on Saturday, the Rams (11-5) will be locked into the NFC’s No. 6 seed before they even kick off against the Cardinals (3-13) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
This has everything to do with the Rams playing their worst football of the season one week away from the playoffs.
The loss to Atlanta was the Rams’ second in a row, their first losing streak of the year. But the three-point difference did not accurately represent how poorly the Rams played, particularly in the first half.
Slow offensive starts were an issue in 2024, but largely one the Rams have avoided this season. But it took six possessions for them to finally put points on the board at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Poor third-down efficiency – finishing the game 5 for 13 in those opportunities – played a part, as did quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing two of his season-high three interceptions before intermission.
“It boils down to execution every week, right?” Stafford asked. “Either you do execute and make your throws or you don’t and I didn’t do that tonight. So it hurt us and we weren’t able to overcome.”
That put the defense in unfavorable situations throughout the night. But field position didn’t always matter. Stafford’s second interception was caught at the Falcons’ 7-yard line. One play later, Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson broke a tackle attempt by safety Jaylen McCollough and was gone for a 93-yard touchdown.
Explosives were an emphasis for the Rams entering this game after they gave up chunk plays in their Week 16 overtime loss to the Seahawks. The teaching points were for everyone to do their part, and for everyone to swarm to the ball. But that wasn’t always the case, like on a 31-yard carry by Robinson.
“I took the inside, I had him wrapped up, I had a little bit of his collar in my hand so I had to release, I thought I had some backup coming in,” Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse said. “But that’s on me, I gotta hold my edge, maybe that’s a two-yard run instead.”
These are all issues from last season, when the Rams were a year younger – issues that the Rams thought were behind them.
Perhaps it had something to do with being eliminated from NFC West title contention prior to the game, though the Rams to a man denied this. Injuries certainly played a part. Left tackle Alaric Jackson’s presence was sorely missed as backup D.J. Humphries had mistakes in the run and pass game, not to mention penalties that negated two big plays to wide receiver Puka Nacua.
Whatever the cause, the Rams were still trying to diagnose what happened in the postgame locker room Monday night.
“That didn’t look like us, that didn’t feel like us at all. That just wasn’t our brand of ball. I don’t even know what else to say,” defensive tackle Kobie Turner said. “Not the end of the season, but we’ve got to do some soul searching and turn around, figure out what’s happening, why we’re starting slow.”
Turner said the short week could help the Rams turn the page quickly. They will have to, both for this coming game against the Cardinals but also for the long road to the Super Bowl that seems much more perilous than it did two weeks ago.
“We can’t put ourselves in those types of situations. We feel like we’re a better football team and we know that the performance that we had in that first half didn’t allow us to have success,” Nacua said. “Trying to find any way to respond. I think that’s been the key for us obviously in these past two weeks but also that’s been the message throughout the entire season. So it’s going to be an opportunity for us to look ourselves in the mirror when we get back home to L.A. and then to make sure we have a great performance on Sunday.”