With a win over the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and the squad had a stunning 2-0 start, their first since 2021. But hopes of extending the streak were dashed when the team faced the defending champions, the Eagles. “It’s a disappointing locker room, but it’s a locker room that’s going to respond,” head coach Sean McVay said after a 33-26 loss. McVay and the Los Angeles Rams have already begun working on moving forward. And the first step may be letting go of the loss.

During the press conference, the coach admitted that the team has already shifted its focus to the challenge ahead, which is the Colts. “There’s a lot of good things that we can learn from it,” McVay said about the loss. “Whether we end up getting that result that we won or not. And I was proud as hell of our football team. I love the resolve of this group. I think they’re a mentally and physically tough team. And sometimes that adversity can be a great opportunity for you to be able to use it as a chance to be able to move forward accordingly,” he said.

McVay likely referred to running back Kyren Williams’ words. The RB described the loss to the undefeated Eagles as a chance to grow as a team. He said the locker room has embraced adversity and sees it as motivation. This early loss will give valuable experience to the team, which comes late for the other teams, as he pointed out.

Coach McVay’s quarterback, Matthew Stafford, also shared the same sentiments and added that if they continue to dwell on the past, the team could cost the team future opportunities.

After such a thrilling start to the season, the Rams couldn’t afford to linger on their loss. Just like Williams, Stafford also believes the same, that while the loss against the Eagles was painful, there were also lessons learnt. “Obviously, it’s a results-oriented business. We want to win the game, and that’s what everybody cares about. But at the same time, got to take the positives from it, learn from what we need to, you know, correct and get better, and then and go,” the QB said.

This is the approach that McVay’s squad must take after the mistakes from the last game. One of the issues was the secondary. This is the first time this season that the Rams have allowed 200 passing yards. The team gave up three passing touchdowns, which is the highest since Week 14 from last season.

Going back to Williams’ comment, the clash against the Eagles was a tough wake-up call for the Rams to be better as they move ahead. Coach McVay also reflected on the crucial moments and his decisions from the game.

Sean McVay addressed his decisions from the game against the Eagles

Despite the defeat, McVay praised the effort and toughness his players showed throughout the game. The Rams jumped out to an early lead thanks to strong offensive play and defense. By halftime, they were up 19-7, showing flashes of the team’s potential. Apart from the importance of fast starts on the road, he also stressed that finishing strong is equally important.

“I think it’s always important to be able to jump out. Then yesterday it’s about how you finish a game,” McVay said. “You give Philly credit for being able to do that. We had our chances. I like the way that we stayed steady in the midst of some of the different things that we had to overcome.”

He saw the loss as a learning opportunity. In the second half, the Rams struggled to score, while the Eagles went on to score 26 points in a row. The coach also pointed out a third-and-two play in the third quarter and explained that the play they ran wasn’t ideal, and he could have set up the players better. However, he also added that he doesn’t regret the team’s aggressive approach on key plays, like taking a shot from the 18-yard line that led to a blocked field goal or the third-and-one and fourth-and-one situations.

When asked about whether analytics played a role in his choices in these critical moments, he shared, “It’s always a part.” He added, “The third down-and-one, we got a look that we thought was really favorable. Typically, that can end up being an explosive or a touchdown-type of play for us. That just didn’t go down. Then, we had a little bit of a miscue with how we were blocking that fourth down based on some things that we anticipated with the movement of that front. That didn’t work out for us, but I felt like those were hard goes in those situations. You give credit to Philly. They made those plays and we didn’t.”

McVay and his squad believe these lessons will help the team bounce back stronger when they face the Colts.