Sean McVay will spend his 40th birthday on Saturday preparing the Los Angeles Rams to play their best. If the Rams (14–5) can knock off the Seattle Seahawks (16–3), it would be the best present McVay could ask for, as he admitted. However, that doesn’t mean he wants his guys to overemphasize the stakes.

“I think business as usual; they understand the stakes.” Sean McVay said. “I think consistency is really important in these moments. And you don’t need to over-communicate what is at stake. But what I want is I want our guys to be able to be courageous in terms of our ability to go cut it loose, no regrets,” Sean McVay said.

“We know what a formidable opponent they are; we are very familiar with them,” he added. “We have tremendous respect for them. But we expect to go in there and play really well, play completely, and be present. And I love the vibe that I’ve gotten from this team.”

McVay holds a 10–7 record against Mike Macdonald’s team, including a playoff win during the 2020 season in Seattle. That said, he has a deep understanding of that group.

The Rams are just one win shy of returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since their 2021 title run. The team wrapped up their final practice on Friday at their Woodland Hills facility before flying to Seattle for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

The Seahawks, on the other hand, are chasing their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2014 season. Sunday’s matchup pits the NFL’s top offense against its stingiest defense. Sean McVay’s team led the league with 30.5 points per game, while the Seahawks gave up a league-low 17.2.

The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with the home side emerging victorious both times.

As of now, the biggest concern sits up front. Their pass protection has been shaky, and Matthew Stafford has paid the price. His accuracy has dipped each week. He cleared 60 percent against the Cardinals to close the season. Then against the Bears, he fell below 50 percent, a worrying trend.

However, if the Rams want to punch a ticket to the Super Bowl, those issues must be fixed, and Stafford knows it.

Matthew Stafford delivers a strong message to the locker room

Matthew Stafford is leading the MVP race and has the Rams back in the NFC Championship against their biggest rivals, the Seahawks. Yet, when he spoke this week, the City of Angels QB kept it simple.

“You just have to go out there and execute. I mean, that’s the biggest part of this: we can talk about all the other stuff, but we got to be hitting blocks correctly. We got to read our run keys and run the ball effectively. I got to put the ball in a good spot for our guys to go make plays. You got to separate, get open, and make plays.”

Meanwhile, the challenge could not be tougher. The Seahawks defense has owned the league all season. They allow just 17.2 points per game, rank sixth in total defense, and force 25 turnovers. Still, there is a wrinkle. Seattle has given up more than 25 points only three times this year, and two of those came against the Rams.

So, Stafford knows chances will be limited in the Emerald City. That is why he wants every snap to matter.

“Go out there and when you have the opportunity to make the plays, try to make them. If they’re not there, how do we not make a bad play worse? All those kinds of things. It’s just quarterbacking one-on-one for me and just trying to keep us moving in the right direction,” Stafford said, laying out his mindset.

And the numbers back him up. Against a Mike Macdonald defense, Stafford has thrown 10 touchdowns to just one interception. In the playoffs with the Rams, he owns a 7-2 record with 18 scores and four picks. He is also 4-1 in the divisional round or later, which speaks for itself.

Ultimately, perfection will decide this one. Both teams know it. For the Rams, this is a shot at their first Super Bowl trip since 2022, when they beat the Bengals 23-20. Because of that, all eyes are now on Sean McVay and Stafford to deliver on the biggest stage.

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