NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 04: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams walks on the sidelines during the first quarter of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 4, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Sean McVay needs to stay the course after his team’s loss to the Saints. The Rams are still in great position to make a Super Bowl run.
Everyone in the Rams organization is going to read a lot of pieces describing how they need to change things up to defeat the Saints in the future. At the very least, they should disregard almost all of them. Sean McVay and company need to understand that one regular season loss to New Orleans won’t define their season.
The simple truth is that the Rams could’ve easily won this football game. If Marcus Peters’ arms were an inch or two longer they would have been in position to get the ball back with a chance to score a touchdown to win the game. It was an excellent game of NFL football that was decided by fine margins. Those margins happened to go against the Rams on this occasion.
In fact, there were plenty of positives for Los Angeles to take from this game. The team showed a lot of mental toughness coming back from a 21-point deficit on the road. Lesser teams would have crumbled under that type of pressure. McVay should be pleased with how everyone on his roster responded to such severe adversity.
The stellar play of Jared Goff should also make everyone associated with the Rams feel better about the franchise’s future. He’s been called a system quarterback by a lot of people over the last 12 months or so. He certainly didn’t look that vanilla against the Saints. He went toe-to-toe with Drew Brees for most of the afternoon. Goff finished the game 28-for-40 for 391 yards and three touchdowns. He absolutely benefits from McVay’s clever offensive scheme, but he made some big time throws in a tough environment on Sunday.
If the Rams are going to be disappointed in anything about their effort in the Big Easy it should center around their ground game. Todd Gurley only managed 68 rushing yards, but in his defense, he only received 13 carries. Falling behind so early in the game definitely forced the Rams to abandon the run. That might be something McVay changes if the two sides meet again down the line.
The only legitimate concern the Rams should have moving forward is whether or not their defense can disrupt Brees and the Saints’ explosive group of receivers. There may not be a schematic answer for that riddle. McVay just needs Marcus Peters and the rest of his defensive stars to play better. Getting Aqib Talib back from injury could also give the team a much-needed boost on that side of the ball.
The bottom line here is that the Rams should still be considered Super Bowl favorites. One loss at New Orleans in early November doesn’t change their destiny. This team is still as good as everyone believed they were before playing the Saints.