Tag: monday night

Matthew Stafford ready to get back on track after being held scoreless against Cardinals

Stafford was unable to score a touchdown against the #Cardinals, but is preparing to help the #Rams win in primetime on Monday night.

Matthew Stafford finished the Los Angeles Rams’ Week 3 win without scoring a passing touchdown, and addressed his pedestrian performance in the team’s Thursday press conference. In a year where the Rams are looking to clinch a second-consecutive Super Bowl berth, Stafford’s contributions will be key to their success, and he did not take his failure to score lightly.

Though he didn’t seem too distraught to have been contained in the matchup, his comments made it clear that he hopes to achieve better outcomes in the future. Asked if it was weird to be held scoreless, Stafford responded indifferently, but vowed to improve moving forward.

“Not really,” He explained. “Obviously, there were some opportunities there that we just missed and we’ll clean those up. My main goal is put up as many points we can to win the game. There were some opportunities that I could’ve done a little bit better job. I’ll try to make sure I do that and get us in the end zone more often. But after the game, I was happy we won the football game and knew there were things we could clean up.”

A win is a win in the NFL, and Stafford’s excellent play will continue to buoy Los Angeles whether he passes for a touchdown in a given game or not. His veteran presence is enough to make the Rams’ offense a force to be reckoned with by itself, and with a cast of talented teammates around him, the unit should be humming by midseason.

Stafford has been in the league long enough to know that a team’s success often hinges on the play of their quarterback, and will be hard at work in practice this week to establish a game plan to beat the San Francisco 49ers in primetime on Monday night.

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Aaron Donald’s moxie still impresses head coach Sean McVay

Even after years spent coaching Aaron Donald, Sean McVay remains bewildered by his determination and force of nature.

Aaron Donald’s competitive spirit and physical presence have reached legendary status, and Los Angles Rams head coach Sean McVay had plenty to say about his star defensive end in his comments to the media on Monday. Oozing with pride for the All-Pro defender, McVay explained his understanding of Donald’s psyche as best he could, telling reporters that the veteran is incredibly inspired in his pursuit of excellence.

“I think certain people just have an intrinsic motivation and a drive that they’re always filling their tank up,” McVay said. “I think that his standards for himself, the type of competitor he is and how he’s innately wired, I think that’s a special trait that he’s probably always had. I think he’d be better equipped to answer it, but I know nobody has higher standards for Aaron Donald than he does of himself, and that’s pretty consistent amongst any great competitor that’s truly driven.

“You get all these extrinsic rewards, but whether it was the contracts that he’s earned over the course of his career, winning the Super Bowl, he’s driven to be great because he wants to be great for himself, he wants to be great for his family, for his teammates, for his coaches. That to me is one of those separators where you’re just innately wired that way. I don’t think that’s something that you can teach or coach. I think you either are or you aren’t, and Aaron certainly is.”

The early portion of Los Angeles’ 2022 season has been marred by injury and a Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills that still stings for the team after two straight wins. Donald has been a rock in every outing for the Rams in spite of all the adversity his team has faced, and even without the benefit of help that is of the same caliber as he has had in years past, still remains unfazed.

A grueling schedule in the months ahead will certainly test their mettle, but for McVay and his coaching staff, Donald’s moxie and passion will serve to buoy Los Angeles. With momentum on their side and a keen sense of direction, this Rams team is set to play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night with Donald leading the defensive charge in primetime.

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Sean McVay on fixing Rams’ issues on the road against 49ers: ‘This game is going to be different’

McVay knows the #Rams’ recent road record against the #49ers and is looking forward to the challenge of facing them in primetime.

Following their torrid start to the 2022 season, the Los Angeles Rams are heading into their Monday night matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with the wind at their back. Despite countless injuries and a particularly challenging schedule, the team has thrived so far this year, but one variable has tainted the narrative of their Week 4 primetime matchup; their abysmal record at Levi’s Stadium in recent seasons.

Los Angeles has lost their last three of their matchups against San Francisco on the road, in a streak that dates back to 2019. Head coach Sean Mcvay is acutely aware of the challenges presented when playing the 49ers on their home turf and told reporters on Monday about the reverence he has for the their roster and coaches, and what he knows what it will take to end the Rams’ losing stretch.

“I think the main thing is they’re a really good football team,” He explained of San Francisco. “They’ve done a good job [against us]. Which year do you want to talk about? We could talk about all those different games, but I think at the end of the day what it boils down to is they’ve played well, they’ve made the plays in crunch time… They’ve always been a good, tough, physical team that has great players, great coaches in all three phases and that’s why we’ve always had such respect for these guys.

“But we know that this game is going to be different than the other ones. We’ve got to be able to show up, play well in that three-hour window, or three and a half hours, however long it takes. That’s what our focus and concentration will be solely focused on. No different than when we had to play them for the third time last year.”

The 49ers might not be the Super Bowl caliber squad they were in 2020, but McVay’s comments made it clear that he does not see San Francisco as an easy target. Los Angeles will be forced to rely on a slew of relatively unproven players after sustaining a plethora of injuries the last two months, and their coaching staff will likely need to amend their gameplan to compensate for the team’s inexperience.

In primetime, and with their lead in the NFC West at stake, the Rams will rely on McVay’s creativity and savvy to win in San Francisco on Monday night. If those veterans who have remained unscathed can pick up whatever slack is left by the younger talent, Los Angeles should be able to put themselves in a position to pick up their third win of the season with the whole nation watching.

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Raiders y Ravens nos regalaron el más épico final de Monday Night de la temporada

Ya podemos meter a la lista el Raiders vs Ravens del Monday Night como uno de los mejores juegos de la temporada.

Cuando vimos en el calendario que el primer Monday Night de la temporada sería entre Raiders y Ravens, en automático Lamar Jackson y los de Baltimore se anunciaron como los favoritos para ganar. Incluso en la tabla de apuestas nuestros analistas apostaron por Ravens.

Sin embargo, Raiders nos dio una buena sorpresa, regalándonos un juego que sin problemas ya podemos meter a la lista como uno de los mejores de la temporada.

El inicio arrancó lento, con una firme ventaja por parte de Ravens. Pero conforme avanzaba el reloj del juego, la brecha fue cada vez más corta hasta llegar a un empate 27-27 de último minuto que nos llevó a tiempo extra.

Ahí la cosa solo se puso mejor. En un estadio a tope, que por primera vez abría las puertas a los aficionados de Raiders desde que se terminó de construir y desde que el equipo se mudó a Las Vegas, la presión sobre los Cuervos era inminente.

Un volado dio el arranque al equipo de Las Vegas y parecía que todo estaba ganado cuando Raiders llegó a la zona de anotación. Jugadores y público arrancaron en júbilo y ya se estaban yendo a casa cuando resultó que no había sido TD.

Y ahí se puso aún más emocionante. Derek Carr lanzó un pase interceptado en la zona de anotación, perdiendo así su oportunidad de ganar el juego.

Traducción: INTERCEPCIÓN EN LA ZONA FINAL DE LOS CUERVOS EN OT.

Y cuando parecía que todo estaba acomodado para que Ravens se llevara el juego, solo necesitaban un gol de campo para ganar, Carl Nassib de Raiders tumbó a Jackson y recuperó el balón.

Traducción: Carl Nassib forzó el balón suelto que preparó el TD ganador del juego de los Raiders.

Ahora sí, el touchdown de Raiders contó, y los Malosos de Vegas pudieron concluir el festejo que habían comenzado unos minutos antes.

Traducción: Esta vez es oficial. Los Raiders ganan en OT.

Cardiaco, les digo. Cardiaco.

Los fans de Ravens nos quedamos con un nudo en la garganta después de sumar nuestra primera derrota de la temporada. Pero con tremendo juego, no nos podemos dar por robados. Hubo espectáculo y emociones, y eso es lo más bello de este deporte.

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