Rams coach Sean McVay has emphatically -- and humorously -- taken accountability for his team's lackluster performance during its season-opening loss in Australia. McVay's travel plans for that game -- arriving in Australia just 28 hours prior to kickoff -- backfired as Los Angeles was thoroughly outplayed by the 49ers, who rolled to a 27-7 win. McVay called himself out for that decision following Monday night's win over the Giants.
"Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn and sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that puts you in bad spot," he said. During Monday night's game, ESPN broadcasters shared that McVay told them that he and his team simply had no energy during the loss to the 49ers, which was likely the byproduct of the travel schedule. In the immediate aftermath of the loss, however, McVay was hesitant to put too much blame on the travel while crediting the 49ers for their performance.
"I don't believe that's why we didn't play well enough," he said. I'm more than comfortable with that. I'll always make decisions that I think are best for the football team.
It's easy in hindsight to be able to say it was a miss. But those are responsibilities that I'll take and then you try to be able to look at it. I'll always look at myself inside out and figure out where I can improve." Regardless of why, McVay has obviously had a change of heart as it relates to the reasons behind his team's struggles in Week 1.
On Monday night, however, the Rams looked much more like the team that was a popular preseason pick to win the Super Bowl. The 28-6 win was highlighted by Matthew Stafford's four-touchdown performance, Davante Adams torching the Giants' defense to the tune of 195 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions, and a defense that welcomed back the return of Aaron Donald, who made three tackles (including a tackle for loss) in his first game in nearly three years. "Obviously we're happy about it," Adams said afterward.
"We're thrilled to win, and any win in this league is one to celebrate. But when you look back, it's you're trying to be great and be a be a Super Bowl caliber team. You got to hold yourself to a high standard, and I think we can do a little bit better than we did."
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