The Rams made a dramatic turnaround from also-rans in 2016 to NFC West champs in 2017 under first-year head coach Sean McVay, but their run came to an end on Saturday night in a 26-13 loss to the Falcons.
McVay said after the game that the team is obviously not happy about the year coming to an end, but he referenced the youthful bent of the roster while saying that he believes the team’s “trajectory is pointing upward” as the offseason gets underway.
That’s hard to argue with, but there were also questions during McVay’s postgame press conference about whether the slow start by the offense and a pair of turnovers on special teams were a sign that the postseason spotlight was too bright. McVay, who repeatedly mentioned learning from the loss, doesn’t think that was the case.
“You have a lot of respect for experience,” McVay said. “Certainly this is an example we can learn from. I don’t think this game was too big for our players. We’re a young football team. We just didn’t make enough plays to get it done.”
It will be a while before we’ll see whether the lessons the Rams learned from their loss allow them another bite at the postseason apple next season.