WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Wide receiver Xavier Smith caught the punt, quickly cut left, then weaved upfield until there was no more green grass in front of him, forced out at the Chiefs' 23-yard line.
The Rams' defense just earned a crucial stop, and Smith responded in kind with a complementary special teams play that led to quarterback Ty Simpson's first touchdown pass of the game four plays later.
Head coach Sean McVay on Saturday said the return and Simpson's touchdown pass to running back Dean Connors was "the momentum flip" of the game. For Smith, his return was simply a reminder of his abilities.
"Just reinforces the abilities that I have back there at punt returner, knowing that I can make those plays," Smith told therams.com. "And then just trusting my guys to set up those blocks in order for me to be able to break loose on a big return."
It was not only a skillset reinforcement, but also a positive one.
Nearly seven months earlier, Smith endured arguably the most challenging game of his NFL career, muffing two punt returns in the NFC Championship. The performance was uncharacteristic of a player who has averaged 9.3 yards per punt return in each of the last two seasons, and had longs of 31 last season and 38 the year before that.
There's the saying "you win as a team, you lose as a team," and there were other moments in other phases that cost the Rams that game. While Smith had a tough game, placing the blame exclusively at his feet would be unfair.
Smith has had the right mindset since then, with teammates continuing to support him.
"I think the best part about it is number one, he knew he wasn't alone," McVay said, when asked how Smith has approached training camp this season after how last season ended. "I think it takes courage to even put yourself in these settings where you go out there and sometimes it might be great and (sometimes) it might not go down for us. But you've got to have the courage to get back up and come back, and that's exactly what he's done this whole offseason. I think he's felt a lot of support from his teammates. I know he feels that way from his teammates and his coaches. What I saw the other day was a mentally resilient individual that, in the first live game action, didn't blink, didn't flinch, did a great job with his decision making. He looked like a stud so I was happy for him."
Smith said his teammates supporting him and having his back in that way, and continuing to trust in him, "means everything" after last season.
"To have those guys just stand by me, continue to believe in me, continue to pour into me," Smith said, "that means more than anything."
Which brings us to last Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, and Smith making a play that fired up new special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone and elicited courage in McVay's answer to a question about him this week.
"Be Courageous" has been one of the central themes of McVay's message to the 2026 Rams.
He can point to Smith as a reinforcing example.
"Just continue to grow, continue to get better, and continue to respond and not react," Smith said of his mindset the rest of camp and the preseason. "Coach preaches that all the time: Just continue to respond instead of reacting. And then just also continue to stack days on top of days. I always pick up where I left off, and I just want to continue to grow, continue to get better. Whether it's at punt returner, whether it's at gunner, whether it's playing the receiver position, I just want to continue to grow in every aspect of my game."
