The New England Patriots dominated defensively in Super Bowl 53, holding one of the league's most explosive offensive attacks to just 260 yards of offense, 14 first downs, and three points. While Bill Belichick and defensive play-caller Brian Flores, now head coach of the Miami Dolphins, certainly deserve a lot of credit for a masterful game plan, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay also believes he failed to consistently put his team in positions to succeed.

In a Thursday appearance on PFT Live, McVay, who calls offensive plays for the Rams, lamented that he didn't have “a better contingency plan” in place when the Patriots threw his team looks they weren't necessarily expecting. He used a specific play from early in the game, the same one that nearly resulted in a touchdown for Brandin Cooks late in the third quarter, to illustrate how the Rams' lack of offensive versatility ultimately came back to bite them.

“If you’re able to hit that and make them pay, then I think it forces them to make some adjustments,” McVay said. “We never really made them pay, so they were able to play that consistent front structure, coverage structure on the normal down and distances and then they were really able to dictate it as opposed to what we wanted to do offensively.”

Most of the post-game criticism about Los Angeles' offensive approach in the Super Bowl revolved around the reduced role of Todd Gurley, an early-season MVP candidate who saw fewer touches than normal in the postseason. McVay, though, clearly thinks his coaching missteps were far greater than affording his star running back 11 touches with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.