The last time the Rams played inside SoFi Stadium prior to Thursday night’s season-opener against the Bills, Matthew Stafford threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald made a game-saving a play, and Sean McVay became the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles put a bow on that victory prior to last night’s game. They hung a championship banner alongside the 1999 Rams’ banner while former Rams Odell Beckham Jr. and Andrew Whitworth pumped up the crowd while hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. The party ended shortly after that, however, as the Bills — the team many feel will hoist the Lombardi Trophy five months from now — dominated the game and pranced away with a 31-10 win on the NFL‘s opening night. The loss stung McVay, who took total ownership for his team’s performance after the game.
“You know, when you look at a lot of the ways that this game unfolded, feel a huge sense of responsibility,” said McVay, whose team is under .500 for the first time in his career. “This team wasn’t ready to go. I take a lot of pride in that. And that’s on me. I’ve got to do better. There was a lot of decisions that I made that I felt like didn’t put our players in good enough spots. So it’s a humbling experience, but we’re gonna stay connected. … The bottom line is I didn’t do a good enough job getting us ready to go to our capabilities. I have total belief and confidence and what we can do moving forward, whether we won tonight or whether we had a humbling experience like this.
“We’ve got 16 games guaranteed left and we’re going to dust ourselves off. We’re going to look ourselves in the mirror, we’re going to be accountable to the things that we can all do better within the framework of our roles, and we’re going to move forward the right way. And that’s all I know how to do.”
McVay blames himself for his offense never settling into a rhythm against Von Miller and the rest of the Bills’ defense. The Bills, who often anticipated the Rams’ silent count while establishing residence in the Rams’ backfield, sacked Stafford seven times while forcing three interceptions.
“He’s a tough-minded guy, standing in there, no flinch, getting hit a lot,” McVay said of his quarterback. “I love Matthew Stafford. There were a couple unfortunate balls that got tipped up. I know he is going to continue to compete. … We’re going to keep riding.”
McVay said the…
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