The Los Angeles Rams caught up on some much-needed rest during their Week 9 bye, sitting back and watching the rest of the NFL duke it out at the midway point of the season. Bye weeks are always beneficial for the health and stamina of the team, but they don’t always yield positive results in the playoff picture.
For the Rams, the bye couldn’t have gone any better. All three of their NFC West rivals lost in Week 9, beginning with the 49ers getting crushed by the Packers on Thursday Night Football. The Bills beat the Seahawks in a shootout, and the Cardinals were tripped up by the surprisingly tough Dolphins.
Sean McVay obviously had his eye on the games over the weekend and he wasn’t upset to see his divisional foes all lose. But at the same time, he knows the Rams have to handle their own business in order to make the playoffs.
“Well, I certainly wasn’t upset to see those teams not come away with wins,” McVay said. “I’ll say this, if we handle our business, you don’t have to get into the business of watching other teams, because if you handle what you’re supposed to, then you know, based on the opportunities we have getting to play two of those teams twice more, get to see the Niners once more – if you handle your business, you don’t have to ride the ebbs and flows of relying on other outcomes to occur. Really, I think this has helped us – this has been the consistent messaging since we all got here in ’17. We’re really just being present and focusing on the next game.”
If the Rams look ahead too far, they’ll see a difficult schedule that includes five NFC West matchups, including four games total against the Cardinals and Seahawks. Those four matchups could decide the division, considering only one game separates these two teams in the standings.
McVay knows anything can happen in the NFL and it’s foolish to overlook even the less imposing teams like the Jets and Patriots, who the Rams will also play down the stretch.
“I mean, I’ve never seen a year since I’ve been involved in the NFL where so many – that’s what you love about it – is every single week there’s that, ‘Oh my gosh, can you believe it?’ But I feel like even more so this year than ever, because of the competitive balance that you see across the board, whether it’s the NFC, the AFC and different outcomes occurring,” he continued. “I think it’s the teams that will have the mental toughness, the resolve, and the ability to play the most consistent football week in and week out, especially in those three-and-a-half-hour windows, that’ll be standing at the end. We’re certainly going to do everything we can to try to be one of those teams and it starts this week.”
Up first for the Rams are the Seahawks, who are on the road again after losing to the Bills in Buffalo. Los Angeles is well-rested and healed up, which gives McVay’s squad an advantage in Week 10.
