INGLEWOOD, Calif. – It's win or go home from here on out, and the Rams' first postseason opponent is a familiar foe: Carolina. Six weeks after being upset by the Panthers in Bank of America Stadium, the Rams will travel back to Charlotte, N.C. for the Wild Card round as the No. 5 seed in the NFC.
Ahead of the contest, Rams head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, defensive coordinator Chris Shula and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur spoke with local media about how they are approaching the matchup. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points.
"I thought they played physical and tough (in Week 13). Their runners leveled the pads off. So you give them credit. You know, you can see they're a physical offensive line, there's an identity in the run game, they got a couple nice backs that do a really nice job of pressing." - McVay
Carolina ran for 164 yards against the Panthers in Week 13 with just one negative play, and their running backs accounted for 203 yards from scrimmage. McVay said they "didn't do the things that were necessary to be able to win the game," and that started with the three turnovers, compared to none for Carolina.
This will be a shorter week of preparation than most, as the game will be on Saturday, but McVay prefers that dynamic to the Monday night into Sunday afternoon game. "I've always been a big advocate of you get up and you go," he said. This team has endured "a lot of different experiences" throughout the season, and McVay feels like that "calloused" the team in "the right way" ahead of the playoffs.
"You don't want to live in the past, but you want to use it as learning opportunities of good experiences and how do we replicate that, and then with some of these scenarios that we want to handle differently, alright, how can we use the learning that we had to try to be able to apply it?" McVay said.
"I'd like not to throw it to their team. And I think that was the story of the game when you think about it. I mean, we moved the ball in some areas, scored a couple in the red zone, did some nice things, ran it well, and just had the turnovers. And really, you look at their defense, that's what they've been able to do to a lot of teams." - Stafford
Stafford's two interceptions and a fumble lost in crunch time made the difference when these two teams last met. Still, Stafford said the Rams are "a little bit of a different team" than they were six weeks ago, and the Panthers are healthier than they were at that point, so this game will have some different dynamics at play.
Cornerback Jaycee Horn, who missed the previous matchup with a concussion, tied for second in the league in interceptions (five) and will be playing this weekend. "I feel like they call similar things (without Horn), but it's just adding in an All-Pro type player," Stafford said. "I think both their corners (Horn and Mike Jackson) are as good as you'll see in the league, have unique skill sets to themselves."
Adams did play in that game, but will be back on the field for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Week 15. Stafford said that getting their chemistry back on track won't take much time, especially as he's been able to throw with him in individual drills over the past week. "I think we've got enough reps under our belt," Stafford said.
He then joked that having a "young quarterback" under center will help them keep the energy up on a short week.
"It feels great (to be back). Feels like it's been a year since I've been out here. It's only been less than a month now, but just excited to be back." - Adams
Despite being a 12-year veteran in the league, Adams said that he "never really figured out" how to manage the emotions of missing time with injuries. But people are still looking to him as a leader, so Adams quickly stopped feeling sorry for himself and found ways to be helpful and included in the team's day-to-day activities.
It's been four years since Adams played in a playoff game, which he said makes him "more grateful" for the opportunity to do so. But still, he played in four NFC Championship games in the span of eight years with the Packers, so he told his teammates, "You have to forgive me if we're not cheesing ear-to-ear after the first win."
He agreed with Stafford's assertion that it won't take time to get their rhythm back after a brief absence. He scored two touchdowns in the first matchup against Carolina, but they played "sloppy" and can't afford to do so again. "We played some good football too, but it was uncharacteristic of us to turn the ball over the way that we did," he said.
"You figure out why those (turnovers) happened and how we can correct them, what they do well as a defense, where their key guys kind of are. They've got a lot of good football players, and they've posed a lot of different challenges on every single level of the defense. (The) secondary, I believe is one of the best in this league." - LaFleur
When asked how they will strike the balance between being patient versus aggressive in the playoff opener, LaFleur said "That's the song and dance... You want to be aggressive, but you don't want to be reckless." It's the job of McVay and LaFleur to give players the tools and calls to achieve that balance.
LaFleur said it's been fun to have Adams back after his brief absence. "He hated missing these last few weeks. We hated not having him." He also discussed Nacua's growth over the past year, saying he's grown in "every area" of the receiver position, specifically his cuts, strength, speed and confidence.
"(Bryce Young) played in a ton of big games obviously at Alabama, so you can't predict anything as far as how he's going to react to a playoff game. You just play what you see on tape, and you see a guy that's operating within the pocket. You see a guy that's making plays on the move, making plays with his legs. You see a guy that has a ton of skill guys that he's trying to get involved." - Shula
Shula echoed McVay's claim that Carolina's success in the run game in Week 13 was a result of "physicality and technique." The Panthers' crucial fourth down conversions in the last matchup were allowed by "part scheme (and) part play call," and the Rams now have more film on themselves and their opponent to try to correct their approach in those situations.
When Shula was asked whether showing his team film of a loss gives them any added motivation, he said "I don't think we need any extra motivation to play this game." They will be facing quite a few former Rams on Carolina's defense, many of whom have elevated their careers during or after their time with Shula. "That's what you're in this for, to help guys extend their career, to reward guys," Shula said. Just not on Saturday.
"Being able to stop the run, I think that was the biggest thing (last game). They were kind of just bleeding the clock, just taking as much time as possible... That's not something that we can sustain as a defense." - Verse
The Panthers' offensive line was knocking the Rams' front off the ball, and they were failing to plant their feet and stop it. Last season's Wild Card experience, which featured nine Rams sacks but none for Verse, taught him to trust his teammates and play his "one of 11th."
A week after that game, the Rams were sent home by the Philadelphia Eagles in a heartbreaking, last-second loss. Verse said postgame that he would do everything in his power to never let his teammates feel that way again, and now he has an opportunity to keep his word. "The whole offense, I spent with mental than everything else, I was trying to figure out what I got to do better in this aspect, what I got to do better in that aspect," he said.
"I think it'll be fun to continue to run the routes that I get to run but then also I know that the defense is going to shift another way. The presence of Davante Adams and the threat that he provides in our offense (does that)." - Nacua
Even when Adams was out, he was still impacting the team with his game day presence. "His knowledge of the game that we're playing, it bleeds into everybody else. I think of somebody who I love to dap up, I want to talk to every day, I want to headbutt," Nacua said.
Nacua has been the primary target of this offense even when Adams has been healthy, so defenses know he's getting the ball a lot. That's a challenge he enjoys. "It's a blessing. I love the opportunity," Nacua said. "I think it's fun, especially in the new way our offense runs. When there's 13 personnel, you come down to a third down, and you see three big guys leave and three smaller guys coming on the field, and I think it's statement to who we are as an offense, especially our wide receiver room, to put that challenge on us and go out there and execute in those critical moments."
"We have the pen in our hand," Nacua said. "We have the opportunity to write our own story."
