No team will complain about winning a game in the NFL. It’s not an easy thing to do, and the Rams know that well from the dark days of the decade before Sean McVay arrived. But you’d much rather win comfortably than by a narrow margin the way the Rams did on Sunday.
After jumping out to a 28-3 lead, the Rams nearly saw that margin evaporate in a span of minutes. The Falcons battled back to make it 31-25 in the fourth quarter, though Los Angeles eventually held on to win 31-27 after taking an intentional safety to help wind down the clock.
McVay was surprisingly upbeat following the victory, admitting his old self would’ve been grumpy after a stressful win like this one. And while he’s happy to come away with the first win of the year, there are things that must be cleaned up.
He’s encouraged that they’re all “very correctable” issues.
“What I’m really encouraged about is all the things we didn’t do at a high level, where you put that game away and you’re not having to worry about it, are all very correctable things,” he told reporters. “And not minimizing that it’s not good enough, but again, I feel confident in our ability to be solution oriented as we move forward for the things that didn’t occur up to our standards on a consistent basis snap in and snap out.”
The Rams’ biggest blunders were a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and an uncharacteristic fumble by Cooper Kupp after a third-down catch. Had Matthew Orzech blocked the interior rusher who blocked the punt or had Kupp simply held onto the ball, the Rams would’ve won a bit more comfortably.
If McVay isn’t worried about nearly blowing a late lead, fans shouldn’t be either. This is a team that’s back on track.
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