Not many people expected the Los Angeles Rams to be in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs when they started the season 1-4.
The Rams’ postseason expectations decreased further when they were pummeled at home by the Philadelphia Eagles 37-20 in Week 12 to drop to 5-6. But, in hindsight, the beatdown was the turning point in the Rams’ season.
‘I think when you have humbling experiences with the right kinds of people, those are where the real growth (opportunities) exist,’ Rams coach Sean McVay said. ‘I think we had a lot of guys that really, as a team, you can look inward and you can say, ‘Is this really what we want to be about? Where are the things that we can adjust and adapt from a coaching perspective? Where’s the sense of urgency that’s going to be required for coaches and players to be able to execute the way that we want and what kind of work needs to be put in throughout the course of the week? What do we need to do? How do we want to act, interact, and respond accordingly with how we move forward?’
‘That humbling night … I think a lot of the scars that we’ve had as a team have been what led us to the point that we’re at.”
Scars administered by the Eagles included Saquon Barkley running for a career-best and franchise-record 255 yards, the ninth-most yards in a game in NFL history. Fans inside SoFi Stadium were affectionately chanting “MVP” for the running back.
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The Rams have won six of their seven games since that humbling experience, including an emotional win – amid the Los Angeles wildfires – in Arizona in the wild card round against the Minnesota Vikings.
“I think that was one of those nights that because we have the right people, the response was in alignment with what we want,” McVay said. “I also think there is a respect and an understanding of what’s going to be required if we want to continue to earn some more time.”
Now, the Rams travel to Philadelphia for the divisional round to meet the same opponent that spawned the turning point of their season.
“It’s huge. I know you see it now, not every game is going to be the same,” Rams safety Quentin Lake told USA TODAY Sports. “We’re going into another enemy territory. …That’s an offense that has high firepower. They got a great running back, offense, offensive line, quarterback and skill players. It’s going to be a good challenge for us. But, you know, this (wild card) game gave us a lot of confidence.”
The Rams also have other reasons to be confident heading to Philadelphia.
They have a Super Bowl-winning head coach who’s coming off his eighth postseason victory at just 38 years old. The defense matched an NFL playoff record with nine sacks versus Minnesota. Matthew Stafford is 5-1 in the postseason as the Rams’ quarterback and fresh off his sixth consecutive playoff game with at least 200 passing yards and two touchdowns (tied for the fourth-longest streak in postseason history).
And, most importantly, they want to perform well for a city that’s still reeling from the tragic wildfires.
“We’re motivated for our team and the work that we put in, but we’re definitely motivated by the situation that is going on around here and the people that are leaning on us to give them a little bit of joy come the weekend,” Stafford said. “Hopefully, we can do that again.’
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.