When news broke that Sean McVay was going to rest Matthew Stafford and many of his starters in Week 18 ahead of the playoffs, it ruffled a few feathers around the City of Angles.
Now sure, technically, the Rams are more likely than not going to have the three seed come Wildcard weekend, but if they lose to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 and the Buccaneers win, their spots could flip heading into the playoffs, drawing the five seed instead of the six seed in what could end up being a very different game, considering the former will have 14 wins.
Does McVay really care if his team has to play the Detroit Lions or the Minnesota Vikings versus the Green Bay Packers or the Washington Commanders? Or is he cool with taking a bye this week and starting the playoffs the next even if it means having a tougher initial matchup? Luckily, reporters asked McVay that very question on Wednesday and got a very interesting response to their inquiry.
“It's just you're always balancing… I think the first thing is you have to take into account, this isn't like the preseason. You've a 53-man roster. You have the ability to flex two guys up and you have five inactive. Injuries usually make a lot or some of the decisions a little bit easier. I'm always trying to make decisions that I think are best for our football team,” Sean McVay told reporters.
“It might not be best for everybody else, but if you said risk-reward, I think it's a great opportunity for Jimmy to be able to play. I think it's also an awesome opportunity for Matthew to be able to get rested, rejuvenated and ready to roll for the playoffs. He’s accumulated so much experience. I think that's the important thing while also saying this is an important game for us. We want to go compete to the best of our ability, don't minimize that. Ultimately, you're just weighing the pros and cons and tilting in those scales. Those are things that we've kind of done when we've been in similar situations. What I do acknowledge is that while it might not be for everybody, you try to have a thought process in regard to why you make these decisions. You use other people that you really value their input and then you're able to articulate that with an open and honest dialogue with our players. They've always been so great about how we handle it.”
Is McVay making the correct call? Will fans watch the Rams Take an L as their former quarterback Baker Mayfield rips off another massive performance for the Buccaneers to secure the third seed for good? Or will the Rams remain more or less the same team with Jimmy Garoppolo under center, leaning on the run game once more – likely with Blake Corum taking on the brunt of the load – to secure a win over the Seahawks? For now, that will be a question fans will ponder, but if things take a turn for the worst, it will turn into the sort of sports talk radio fodder that McVay has experienced far too often during his run in LA.
