SEATTLE – The Rams lost a heartbreaker in Seattle in Week 16, falling 38-37 in overtime on Thursday Night Football. Despite some truly spectacular individual efforts, the Seahawks were able to match the Rams' overtime touchdown and their game-winning two-point conversion was successful. They've now jumped the Rams for first place in the NFC West at 12-3, as Los Angeles fell to 11-4.
After the game, head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford spoke with the media about the loss. Here are some significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.
"I love this team. And man, when you put out as much as this group does and you care so much about something and you come up short, it's incredibly disappointing." - McVay
McVay called the game a "great back-and-forth battle between two really good football teams."
"Whether we beat a team by 30 or we lose by one on a last-second play, this team's as steady as it gets. So I'm proud to be a part of it, proud of the effort that we had together today. Tough one for sure, but we'll move on and play who we got next." - Stafford
Stafford said he's not concerned about how the loss will affect playoff seeding. "Where are we playing, who are we playing? Put the ball down, prepare, go play," Stafford said. "That's the attitude this team's had since day one, that's the attitude we're going to have until the last game we play this year."
"Listen, respect everybody, fear nobody, go play," Stafford said that's the mindset they are looking to carry. There were plays that they want back in all three phases of the game, but ultimately they just have to learn from them and move on.
"Any time you come in here, play that defense, one of the best, if not the best in the league, and do what we were able to do on offense, control the game and score whatever we scored, 37. Feel good about it. Obviously, there's a couple plays we want back to maybe score in the red zone earlier in the game or continue a drive where we got off the field early in the game, but I was proud of our effort." - Stafford
When the Rams played Seattle in Week 11, Stafford said it was tough to get in a rhythm with the offense often getting short fields and not possessing the ball for very long. This time, they dominated time of possession and were therefore able to "affect the game" more. The Rams' 581 yards of total offense were the most by any team in a game this season, so that's putting it lightly.
With wide receiver Davante Adams out due to a hamstring injury, Stafford said the coaches "did a great job devising a plan" to succeed without him. That plan resulted in a career-high 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns for wide receiver Puka Nacua. Stafford said the blockers along with the running backs "did a great job," resulting in 124 rushing yards, and said McVay "called a great game." Stafford also said the two rookies who contributed, tight end Terrance Ferguson and wide receiver Konata Mumpfield, were "great."
