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The Los Angeles Rams have morphed into a far different team compared to the one routed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Turns out a powerful Sean McVay speech involving a calendar reference was all it took, per Matthew Stafford.
The quarterback reflected on the very talk McVay had that night when addressing reporters after the 12-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers. McVay reminded his team after the Eagles' drubbing that there are 39 days left in the year. Turns out the Rams and Stafford took that to heart.
“He is exactly right. It goes back to what I was just saying. You spend all this time this year, your entire life for a lot of these guys, myself included, just working for moments like this,” Stafford explained. “Sometimes you kick off September 1st, and you go, ‘Man, there's a lot of football to be played.’ It's daunting to look at the whole chunk.”
Yet Stafford became impressed by how his head coach used the time left on the calendar year to ignite the Rams.
“He broke it down for us and did a hell of a job going, ‘Hey, there's this many days left.’ It's a great way to galvanize the group,” Stafford said. “I thought it was an awesome message.”
Rams surging with Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay and company
Los Angeles went from a traffic jam within the NFC West standings to speeding up to catch first place. The Rams' Thursday evening win in Santa Clara now puts them right behind the division-leading Seattle Seahawks.
They've also won three in a row — right after that infamous 37-20 defeat at home against the Eagles.
Now at 8-6, L.A. could tie for the lead in the NFC West if Seattle falls to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night football. The Rams and ‘Hawks are the only teams in the division with eight victories.
McVay and the Rams appear to always play their best football once the calendar flips to December. They're 24-11 all-time during the final month of the year. Last year's team stormed through December with a 4-1 mark. Even the 5-12 Rams team of 2022 were a respectable 2-2 in December games.
As Stafford put it, McVay constantly finds new ways to motivate the Rams. This time, he referenced how they had less than 40 days to turn the season around.
“He does such a great job in front of our team at all times, but that was one that definitely resonated with the group. Guys are rallying behind it and continuing to do whatever we can to try and win games,” Stafford said.
Stafford completed only 16-of-27 passes while settling for 160 yards. No Rams player scored a touchdown, as rookie kicker Josh Karty did all the scoring. The Rams now have one road game left — the Dec. 22 contest against the current 3-10 New York Jets. Then it's back to SoFi Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals and Seahawks to close out the season.
