With the help of three other teams, the Los Angeles Rams clinched the NFC West on Sunday after beating the Arizona Cardinals the night prior. In doing so, they secured either the No. 3 or 4 seed in the playoffs.
While they can guarantee themselves the No. 3 seed with a win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18, they don’t have to win that game because they’re already certain to have a home playoff game in the wild-card round.
As a result, Sean McVay has a decision to make. Does he want to play his starters in an attempt to lock up the third seed or will he rest his top players and avoid any potential injuries in an otherwise meaningless game?
During his appearance on the “Coach McVay Show” Monday night, he gave a clear indication of what direction he plans to go. He expects to rest the Rams’ starters on Sunday, as he did in 2017 and 2023.
“Those are always the great questions you ask yourself,” McVay said. “And I think you have a responsibility as a head coach and with your coaching staff to collaborate and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to compete every opportunity that we get.’ You don’t minimize the importance of every single game. But relative to what’s at risk, what’s at reward in terms of either or, and being able to maybe get some guys that are – you know, the toll that a season takes – get them back, refreshed, rejuvenated. Typically, we’ve erred on the side of leaning a little bit more towards that and I would imagine as we continue to finalize our plans, that’s probably the direction we’ll go.”
J.B. Long asked McVay how his experiences in 2017 and 2023 influenced this decision, considering he rested his starters in both instances. Though the Rams didn’t get the results they were looking for, losing both of their wild-card games after resting players in the season finale, McVay feels it was the right call.
“In each of those instances, I don’t necessarily look at what occurred when we played, but I do think it served us well going into Detroit. Came up a point short,” he said. “And I think in a lot of instances, that Atlanta game leading into the wild-card game – first home playoff game at the Coliseum – I thought our guys were ready to go. And there were some instances where you say as a coach, man, you want to do a lot better job for guys. I think it served us well for what the intent was. Obviously, the goal is to be as fresh, as sharp as we can possibly be when the playoffs kick off, while not minimizing the importance of every single game is a blessing to play in.”
While McVay didn’t explicitly say who will get Week 18 off and which starters might still suit up, it’s not hard to figure out who won’t take the field. Matthew Stafford is obviously going to get the day off, as will Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and other veterans who have endured some wear and tear throughout the year.
McVay is excited to see what Jimmy Garoppolo can do in his first opportunity as a member of the Rams, similar to the chance Carson Wentz got in Week 18 last year.
“I think he’s a really, really good football player and I’m looking forward to seeing him just go play the way he’s capable of and it’s a great challenge against an excellent defense that’s hitting their stride at the right time.”
At running back, McVay is looking forward to seeing Blake Corum and Cody Schrader getting a bigger workload in place of Williams, who has stayed healthy for the entire season despite carrying it 316 times and playing 87% of the offensive snaps.
The same goes for the offensive linemen who will be stepping in for the starters in the finale on Sunday.
“There’s a handful of guys that could come to mind immediately, but I’m excited about seeing Blake Corum get a heavy workload,” McVay said. “I’m excited to see what Cody Schrader is about. I’ve loved what I’ve seen from him in some of these practice settings. I think Blake has flashed in some of the opportunities that he’s gotten. Looking to see some of these offensive linemen get opportunities that have done an excellent job presenting looks and helping our defense grow throughout the season.”
Interestingly, McVay didn’t commit to even being the play caller in Sunday’s game against the Seahawks. He said the team is working through that decision as it prepares for Seattle, and it’s possible offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur will be calling the plays on that side of the ball.
“If this does provide an opportunity to not necessarily take a step back, but be a little bit more immersed in the total product of the team, while also watching Mike be able to lead in his own way, those are things I always want to be able to think about if I think that’s what’s best for the team. That might be a direction we go.”