Could the Rams do it again?
By Andy Davies
The Los Angeles Rams secured a place in the Divisional Round after their 27-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.
Against an opponent with four more wins in the regular season and doing so in a neutral venue, this Rams team showcased just how good they can be and look to be the real deal.
Could they win it again?
They’ve been there, and done it before
This Rams team knows how to win. After all, they won a Super Bowl three seasons ago with the same head coach and quarterback duo.
In head coach Sean McVay, they have one of the best out there. Since he was hired in 2017, only Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has more playoff wins. In the same time period, only four quarterbacks have won a Super Bowl as a starter.
Two of these are Tom Brady and Nick Foles, who have both retired. The other two are Stafford and Patrick Mahomes. We can go all night praising Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, as we should, because they are fantastic quarterbacks, all easily in the top five QB rankings. However, none of them have done what Stafford has done, and won a Super Bowl.
Burrow came close, reaching Super Bowl LVI against the Rams, but he ultimately lost. Allen and Jackson have not even made the big game, only appearing in one AFC Championship game each. Of course, this narrative could be closed down for either quarterback should the Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens make the Super Bowl or go on to win it. But right now, Stafford remains the only active NFL quarterback in the playoffs outside of Mahomes to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. This should not be taken lightly.
Praying on Lions inexperience
The Detroit Lions likely await for whoever wins out of the Rams and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. This is a big test for McVay and his roster, given the Eagles’ playoff seeding and the quality they have on all three units. They gave the Packers a tough time on offense, and this defense will hope to pounce on any mistake the Rams make.
However, the Rams were faultless against the Vikings and have a wonderful blend of experience and youth. Puka Nacua is more than making up for Cooper Kupp’s age-led regression. With a young quartet on defense of Jared Verse, Jayden Friske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young, they have more than enough to stop the rushing threat of 2,000 yard rusher Saquon Barkley and the likes of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith for quarterback Jalen Hurts to throw to.
Should they survive this test, then the Lions are heavily favoured to be their opponent, given their number one seeding and long overdue week of rest. However, this is still new to the Lions, and we all know what happened in last season’s NFC Championship. Of course, that was last year, and the Lions will have learnt from this defeat. On the other hand, they have been leaky defensively down the stretch in what has been an injury laden spell.
Aside from Jared Goff, there are not many players with too much experience of this stage of the season. After all, the Lions’ NFC Championship appearance last season was their first in over 30 years. Whilst there are plenty of Rams players mentioned in this article that are also lacking experience at this stage, arguably less than Detroit, Kupp could easily showcase one final clutch performance before what could be his final season. This Rams team knows how to win and have done one thing that teams often do when winning championships, get hot at the right time.
After a 24-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week Five, they were 1-4. Following the defeat, they went into the Week Six bye week with serious questions being asked. However, they ended the season 10-7 after winning five of their last six and that one loss coming in Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks whilst resting many of their starters.
As San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will tell you, McVay does not care for your regular season record, or your form. He can outcoach almost anyone and Dan Campbell, guilty of being too aggressive in his play calling at times, could be the next victim.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER FOUR YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, DOUG PEDERSON, DERRICK HENRY, TREVOR LAWRENCE AND MIKE VRABEL.