The Los Angeles Rams had a great opportunity to put their foot down against the New York Giants in the first half on Sunday afternoon. Already leading 7-3, the Rams found themselves at New York’s 4-yard line with about six minutes left in the second quarter.
Jared Goff took a sack on first down after a miscommunication on the offensive line, and on the next to plays, Sean McVay called screens. One went to Malcolm Brown for a loss of 2 yards, and the next was a screen to Robert Woods for no gain.
The Rams settled for a field goal, going up 10-3 and allowing the Giants to hang around with some momentum after that red zone stop. McVay’s conservative calls were criticized by fans on Twitter, with many wondering why he wasn’t more aggressive in that situation.
On the “Coach McVay Show” Monday, McVay was asked about those play calls by J.B. Long, and he was candid in his response. McVay wasn’t afraid to admit he was just trying to take the three points after the first-down sack, which is both surprising and somewhat concerning.
“Those are situations that I’m not worried about being predictable there. I just wanted to take the points,” he said. “Both those situations the last couple of weeks were third-and-long. Didn’t want to do anything where you’ve got a chance for a good reward and a low risk in those situations. It’s kind of like a two-minute drive-starter. That’s a big alert for the screen. I’m OK with that because in those two specific situations you’re referring to, it was more about, ‘All right, let’s not turn the ball over or go backwards at all, we’ll take the three. A little bit more of a conservative approach in both of those situations, but sometimes those are decisions we have to make as coaches. It’s kind of a high alert, so give them credit, but it is something I’m aware of that they’re in tune for that, as well.”
A screen on second down is understandable. It’s hard to complain about that call, especially after seeing the play unfold the way it did. If not for Dalvin Tomlinson making a great read and tackle, it might’ve gone for six.
But the third-down “give up” screen shows a lack of confidence in not only the offense, but specifically Jared Goff. At this point, McVay should be able to trust Goff to take a shot to the end zone and not commit a costly turnover. Goff has done a nice job protecting the football in the red zone throughout his career, so there’s no reason McVay couldn’t have called a pass downfield to at least try to get into the end zone.
That’s not to say it would’ve been easy to score from 14 yards out, or even from the 12-yard line on second down, but McVay’s lack of faith in his offense is surprising. Settling for three points is never a good idea, even against a winless team like the Giants – and especially with a rookie kicker on special teams.
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