L.A.’s leading man processed some of what this loss means when he spoke to the media after the final whistle
Sean McVay gave plenty of credit to the Philadelphia Eagles who defeated the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoff Round, but he also expressed his own “shock” as the Rams season officially came to an end.
The head coach reflected on being “bummed out that this journey is over.”
“I think I’m up here pretty shocked because I know a lot of people didn’t believe we could come in here, but we have the full expectation to come in here, and I don’t think anybody ever really expected the end of the season to be right now, and the finality of it is tough for me to swallow because of the love and appreciation I have for this group.”
LIVE: Sean McVay & Matthew Stafford postgame press conference following Divisional matchup vs. Eagles. https://t.co/t78MmoOcgq
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 19, 2025
You can blame turnovers, you can blame L.A. stalling out in the redzone a bit too often, you can blame Saquan Barkley, but no matter how you slice it L.A.’s season has come to an end, and it stings for the organization.
The loss doesn’t mean that the head coach and team can’t reflect on how successful the season has been. The Rams gave it their all, and there’s something to be said for that.
“Damn proud to be associated with this football team. I didn’t see it going any other way than us winning that game 29-28, and I think this game in a lot of ways epitomized the resilience, the grit, the ability to overcome adversity. Just had couple things that we couldn’t overcome, and they’ll be some things that we can learn from, but you know this is the time for gratitude, for appreciation. I love this group. I love this coaching staff. I love these players. And I also understand and appreciate how difficult it is to be in positions like this. Where you’ve got the game…you’ve got the game in hand. I felt like we had total control towards the latter part of that game. Momentum was in our favor, and we had an opportunity to be able to win that game, but we just came up short.”
Despite how proud the team should be with how fun and successful their season was overall, that does not change how crushing, gutting and heartbreaking this loss has to be for the team who had aspirations of getting to the NFC Championship game and beyond.
However, advancing further was not in the cards for the Rams, and that’s the hard reality for the head coach, the team and the fans.
“I’m just really sad that this journey is over. This was a special season; it’s as much fun of a season as I’ve had.”
And so, the Rams season has come its end, and whether McVay was ready for it or not that’s what happened. There will be plenty of time to look at how L.A. can bounce back next year, but for now the team will be watching the rest of the season from home.
As shocking as it might be, that’s their reality.
