Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay didn’t hesitate to admit what he believes to be his mistakes after the disappointing 26-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. “The play selection was poor,” he said about the play calls.

In overtime, the Rams were down by three points and faced a crucial fourth-and-1 near the end zone. Instead of tying the game with a field goal, Coach McVay chose to run the ball, handing it to running back Kyren Williams. Instead of tying the game, he decided to go for his aggressive approach that the team used in the game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He went to tie the game.

What he didn’t realise was that the 49ers’ defense was strong enough to handle it. And like Jaguars coach Liam Coen warned about the 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, who stopped him at the line of scrimmage, leading the team to a win.

When asked if he would have done anything differently or considered kicking a field goal, McVay said “no,” but he admitted that he should have. “I’m sick right now because I put our players in a s—– spot. I’ve got to live with that.”

“Bad call by me,” McVay shared. “We stayed in it, we fought, we battled. … I’m pretty sick right now. I’m sick of the spot I put our group in to end the game. These are the tough beats that you’ve got to learn from and move forward, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Both McVay and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford shared their takes on the game. And Stafford held a different opinion about that call. He supported McVay’s decision to go for it, appreciating the aggressive approach to try and win rather than settle for a tie.

“That’s a bread-and-butter short-yardage rush for us so I didn’t have any problem with it,” McVay said. “That’s trusting our guys to go out there and make a play. They did a nice job of stopping it. Frustrating that we didn’t get it. Wish I would’ve done more and found a way to help us win.”

He felt the team should always aim to finish the drive and score, even though it didn’t work out this time. But with clear frustration on their faces, the Rams players watched the team fall short. The 49ers squad, on the other hand, didn’t have its top players and yet managed to be phenomenal in the game.

And while Stafford agreed with the coach’s decision, he expressed the frustration present in the locker room.

Matthew Stafford mentioned an issue with the locker room

This was one of the most surprising upsets of the early NFL season. The Rams now have about a week and a half to digest their second tough loss of the 2025-26 season. Over the past three weeks, they faced two NFC powerhouses, the Eagles and 49ers, and mistakes in key moments have shown just how much work remains for this team.

And the current defeat stings even more. Looking back at the game, Stafford said, “We had a chance to win it multiple, multiple times.” “Those sting and piss you off… that one is frustrating, the Philly one is frustrating,” he added.

Stafford noted that the team just needs to cut down on turnovers in key moments.”The locker room was clearly frustrated after dropping a tight game against a division rival they had a chance to win, but Stafford isn’t concerned about their reaction. He even appreciated that everyone was fired up and upset.

“Guys are pissed off because they care,”  Stafford said. “If everyone was laughing and joking, I’d be more concerned.“

Both losses served as a wake-up call for the team, and they will look to fix these mistakes moving to Week 6.