What The Rams Said Following Their 26-17 Win Over The Seahawks

Head Coach Sean McVay Watch on www.therams.comOn the outcome. “I’ll take it. The guys did a great job. I love the way our team just continues to compete, continues to stay connected, stay together. So proud of Aaron Donald. He ends up breaking the all-time sack record for the Rams. He’s only going to continue to build on this. Robert Woods, what can you say about him? So tough, such a great competitor. Thought he stepped up and made some big-time plays. He ended up having 12 for 150, and all of them were vital for our success offensively. I love how Matthew responded from the early turnover. We’ve got to be better than that. I thought we had some tough, hard-earned yards. And I love the way that Matt Gay ended up finishing the game for us. He’ll be better, he’ll improve. But, to me, being able to make that kick in crunch time, when that would have given them a chance to have some life, he took it right away from them. We’ll take it for him. A lot of things we can improve on, but I’m really proud of this team.” On the health status of Matthew Stafford and Darious Williams. “I don’t have an update on Darious. I’m not sure about him yet. And Matthew continued to battle through it. I know he got his finger nicked up. I’m not sure of the specifics. When you talk to him, he’s so tough. He won’t tell you what’s going on. He just says I’m fine. So I’ll talk to Reggie and his group after this.” On if pain in Matthew Stafford’s throwing hand or elbow affected him. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him. But he had a lot of pretty good one’s tonight, too. He did a great job. Again, I just thought there were so many good things that I could point out, and there’s going to be so many things that we can take a deep breath, digest this and improve on, because it’s a great football team. Really was impressed by what Geno Smith was able to do coming in there, being able to move the ball a little bit, sustain some drives. But, OK. A lot of good things. We’ll take the team win.” On the slow start for the offense in the first half and the stronger second half. “Yeah, you know I thought they did a good job making some plays. We were just a little ahead of some of our progressions. I thought Matthew was playing really fast. He was a little bit ahead of some things early on and just the continuity. There’s always some decisions, you know, like I would tell you guys, some different things, you want to put guys in the right spots. We were just a little off. But I thought at the most important times we settled in, took a deep breath, and I continue to be impressed with just the resolve, the resilience and the cool, calm, collected competitor that Matthew Stafford is in crunch time.” On if he foresaw a big night for Robert Woods. “That was something, because Gary asked about it, you know, we wanted to get him more involved. No, but he deserved it. We were definitely trying to get him involved tonight. He delivered in a big way, and they’re a reason why he has a C on his chest. He’s made the most of his opportunities that he’s had the first four weeks. Tonight was an opportunity where he got 14 targets. He delivered on 12 of them. He’s a stud, and just love the way he was instrumental in the win tonight.” On what Stafford’s demeanor was going out after Seattle cut the deficit to two. “You keep the ball in his hands and he makes plays. Some of the plays he made on that drive were unbelievable. One of the plays that he made to Robert Woods on a second down and 10 after we had an incompletion, he winds up making an incredible kind of no-look on an in-breaking route. He made a bunch of timely throws right there, and how quickly we retook the lead. You can see when we’re firing on all cylinders we can be explosive. We’ve got to do it more consistently, but there’s a lot of things we can take from that. He’s a stud.” On what he saw from his defense and the late interception. “Huge. It was big. Just like we’ve said all along, the complete team win. Everybody was vital to the success. I thought Nick Scott closing it out, Jalen getting the tip that Troy Reeder ends up picking. I wish we would have taken advantage of that momentum offensively. We’ve got to be better at playing complementary football in that regards. They did a great job of being at their best when their best was required. Same with Matt Gay and special teams. I’ve never seen anything like a double-punt, either. That was crazy. And then we wind up being on the minus-10. What the hell?” On what explanation he got. “I don’t have the brain power to be able to explain it. But basically what happened was because he kicked it still behind the line of scrimmage, they reviewed it in New York, they said his foot was still on the line, so he wasn’t totally over the line of scrimmage. So they said he can do that. I said, ‘He can kick the ball twice, huh?’ I guess you learn something every night.” On what he was hoping to see from Robert Rochell. “Just competitiveness. I think for him, even a couple of plays that went back, I love the way that he responded. He’s an unflappable guy. He’s mentally tough. He’s got great traits, great athleticism, great toughness, a lot of things that we can build on. I thought he stepped up in a big way, especially with all the weapons that those guys have on the perimeter. I thought Shane did a nice job kind of being able to mix it up tonight as well.” On the play of Tyler Higbee. “He was tough tonight. He comes back, he makes the touchdown catch when we had to have it. He did a great job of blocking at the point of attack when we were in some of those numb-run situations, but Johnny Mundt seamlessly filled in as well. I’m not exactly sure what had happened with him, but he needed a little bit of a break and fortunately, when you have confidence in Johnny, he was able to step up and do a nice job. Tyler’s so tough. He won’t even tell you what’s going on with him, but he’s playing through so many bumps and bruises, and he plays so physical and he’s so instinctual. But I love Tyler Higbee, love what he brought to the table tonight.” On what his team accomplished in a short turn-around time after a loss and now playing in a tough environment. “Just like we had hoped. We were disappointed in the result. Didn’t have too much time to really digest it other than, hey, we know we can be better. Let’s correct the obvious things and let’s be able to have some resilience and mental toughness as we move forward and can’t wait for that next opportunity to compete. And it wasn’t all perfect tonight by any stretch. We’re down at the half. Being able to do the things that the defense did, being able to see some of the plays offensive guys made, and special teams was encouraging, but again, we’ll take a break, we’ll try to get ourselves refreshed, recovered, and there’s a lot of improvements we can make from these first five weeks. We’re pleased with where we’re at, but not complacent by any stretch.” On third-down plays. “There were a couple of things when we had multiple options, especially versus some of the coverage contours that we got. Matthew and I talk about those types of things. But we are an aggressive offense that has confidence in our ability to be able to connect on those types of plays. We’ll never apologize for that. But you do want to be sure that we’re smart situationally. I’ve got to be smart in some of the plays that we’re activating. That’s something that we’ll be mindful of. But I think overall you want to keep the ball in Matthew’s hands and you trust those guys being able to come through.”Quarterback Matthew Stafford Watch on www.therams.comOn what happened with his finger. "I wish I could. I don’t know. I looked down at a certain point on a drive in the second quarter, I think the one we kicked the field goal on, I just looked down and felt a little pressure on it. I maybe got it on a handoff or a snap or something, I’m not 100% sure. I looked down and felt a little pressure in there. It was just a little bit out of place and I was able to put it back in and keep going. It didn’t affect me too much to be honest with you." On if there’s any pain in his finger. "No, not really. I’ll be alright." On if he expected Robert Woods to have that strong of a football game. "I don’t expect anyone to do anything other than what they’re capable of, and he’s capable of that. That’s the cool thing is watching him go out there and do his thing. He took advantage of his opportunities. He had opportunities tonight, I hit him a bunch of times, he did a great job catching and running, he was big when we were backed up, he made some explosive plays. He played great tonight. I thought a lot of our guys in the skill position played really good. There’s still more out there. Early in the game, I could play probably a tick slower. I went through progressions a little too quick early in the game, getting us off the field early a couple of times. Obviously I can’t make that mistake I made throwing that ball away. I really have to throw that ball away, away. That’s a big momentum swing in the game. If we get seven down there or three, we’re ahead on the scoreboard, we’re going to do what we want to do and what we should do. To give them life there was a play that frankly was not good enough. I need to be better on that." On getting Robert Woods involved tonight. "I try to throw the ball where the defense tells me to throw it. He was in the spot tonight where they were telling me to throw it. He made huge plays. He’s got great feel underneath, he got down the field a couple times and made some big catches. Just so appreciative of who he is as a person, who he is as a leader on our team. He does everything we ask of him. Ask him to go in there and block, ask him to run block for other receivers, do all these things and just know that his opportunities are going to come and when they come, he has a huge night. On the road in a hostile environment and in a division game when we really need someone to step up, he did just that. I’m happy for him and proud" of him. On what he saw on the deep pass to DeSean Jackson with three defenders down there. "I took a hit kind of right as I threw it. I saw the still pictures, lot of green around him, but it was a great play by him. It’s one of those third and extra-long situations where you’re going to try and put one up and he did a great job of coming back to it and making a big play." (On if he can talk through the six play, 73-yard drive that sucked the air out of the building…) I wish I could. I think it was a great mixture of being able to run the ball, throw the ball. I think in the second half, our guys up front really dictated the line of scrimmage. I thought our running backs hit it downhill great. Sony [Michel] had great plays in the run game and in the pass game, stepping up and picking up blitzers up the middle. That allowed us to get the ball down the field. There were a lot of big drives tonight. I’m just really happy that we were able to come away with the win on the road in a tough environment. On why the offense can start slow and then lead to an explosion. "I think I can probably be better. I think if I’m playing a little bit better, a little bit slower at the start of games, maybe we stay on the field for some of those third downs and we go get points. Obviously turning the ball over there in the red zone is a huge mistake. If we have 14 at the half instead of what we had, it feels a lot better." On what allowed the offense to turn it around. "I think just executing. I think it’s just executing the game plan. Going out there, trusting each other. I think Sean [McVay] has a great feel for what the defense is trying to do. I’m feeling those guys out as well [saying] hey, what are they trying to do to us, what are they trying to take away and then we’re going to go out there and try to exploit that. I thought he called a great game, an aggressive game. I got a lot of opportunities to throw the ball down the field and we hit some big ones." On what he saw on the interception in the end zone. "I was halfway between throwing the ball away and I just need to throw the ball away, away. I didn’t see Quandre [Diggs] where he was, I thought when I threw it, it’s just going to fall out of bounds out the back of the end zone. He did a great job of screaming across the end zone and making a play and catching it. But there’s no excuse. Can’t do it. If I’m going to throw the ball away, commit to it and just throw it all the way out." On how it feels being 4-1 going into a bit of extended time off after a Thursday game. "It feels great. Would love to be 5-0, but we are what we are. I think the fun thing is, being 4-1 and knowing that our best game of football hasn’t been played yet. There’s a lot of things that we could clean up, that I could clean up. I know we can as an entire team. Nothing is easy in this league. You earn every single one you get, especially going on the road against a really good football team like Seattle in a hostile environment. I’m happy to be where we are, I know there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of football left to be played." On what Tyler Higbee showed him tonight. "A bunch of toughness. He was battling through some stuff, not feeling his best. I appreciate those guys in the tight end room, they do a heck of a job, him and Johnny Mundt. Our run game got going in the second half and they were big parts of that. Obviously Higbee with a big touchdown catch as well going up against an All-Pro safety and getting a bunch of separation, that’s a heck of a route and a great catch. Just happy for those guys, they put in so much work and the tight end position is just kind of like a dirty position. They’re in there blocking all day and then they’re asked to go out and catch balls. Just happy that when he got his opportunity, he made it count." On the contributions that Sony Michel and Darrell Henderson Jr. had offensively. "They were great. I think every time they touched the ball, there were positive things going on. I think they did a nice job in pass protection as well. Darrell freaking ran it great. It was so fun to watch him get out there and do his thing. Sony came in there and did his thing – when those two guys are rolling like they were tonight, it’s a really positive thing for our offense. I know our offensive line feed off of that. When we’re running the ball down the field, they’re looking at the sideline calling for more. They’re wanting more of these runs and it’s a fun thing to be a part of." On what he feels when he sees Russell Wilson’s finger get banged up. "I feel bad for him. I’ve been there. We’ve all messed up fingers that exact same way. I hope he can heal up quickly. His looked pretty tough. I’m sure they’ll do a bunch of tests and figure it all out. He’s a tough guy so he’ll be out there as soon as he can I’m sure." On how it feels as a team to bounce back from a loss so quickly. "It’s great. Thursday games are tough. Physically, mentally, the whole thing. To get ready to go in that short period of time, it’s tougher and tougher every year for me. Can’t imagine [Andrew Whitworth] doing it, but he does it. I think it was great. It was almost perfect timing to have a Thursday game after a performance like we had in Arizona where really if you ask anyone on our team, they probably didn’t play up to their capabilities. Tonight, we still had mistakes that we can correct and move forward and get better at, but we were able to find a way to win and that’s an awesome thing to be able to do."Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald Watch on www.therams.comOn how it feels to be the all-time sack leader for the Rams. “It feels good. It’s a blessing. It’s even better when you accomplish something like that coming off a divisional win.” On winning on a short week. “It’s good. We prepared. We got ready. Played a tough game. We found a way to win on the road. A lot of work to do to clean things up, but it’s a lot better when you get to fix some things off a win.” On what it’s like to see the guys at the back of the defense play so well. “It’s good. That’s what those guys are out there for. They’re playmakers. Those guys are out there flying around, making plays count in the game. It’s a good feeling.” On Matthew Stafford. “He’s a heck of a quarterback. He’s playing good football. Even when there’s ups and downs, he found a way to still make good throws and put us in good positions to score points. Like I always say, I’m happy he’s on our team.”Wide Receiver Robert Woods Watch on www.therams.comOn his performance tonight. “I was really just trying to come into this game, it was a short week for us. I wanted to play with poise and my number was called a couple of times back-to-back. I had to be an open target for (Matthew) Stafford, I worked the middle today, and he was able to find me.” On if he was a big part of the game plan. “It’s always a working week. I come in and expect the ball each and every week. This week I had a little talk about trying to get involved in the offense, me and (Sean) McVay spoke. He said he was going to get me some touches and I was able to find the ball. It was one of those defenses and looks where we were able to keep working, me and (Matthew) Stafford were able to connect. It was one of those games where I kept getting open and getting my number called. That’s how the team works, you never know how the game goes with the ebbs and flows of our season, but you have to be ready and expecting the ball. Today was my day.” On if it was his idea to talk to Sean McVay about getting more involved. “Yeah it was. Being a competitor, I’m trying to do everything to be a part and help this team win. I was trying to be a playmaker and be involved in every aspect. The first couple of weeks I was involved in the run game and tried to get involved in the pass game but this week I was more involved, had the opportunity to get my number called, have some plays, and capitalize on those opportunities.”Cornerback Jalen Ramsey Watch on www.therams.comOn Darious Williams leaving the game with an injury. “Yeah, its tough because he’s a key player for us obviously; starting corner. Obviously you all saw how he allows me to do different things and play different roles on defense, we were made to play with each other. With him going out it’s definitely tough, we’ll hope for the best and pray that he’ll be ok and able to return. Hopefully it’s not serious.” On managing the highs and lows of football. “We take a lot of pride in that. Obviously, we are very self-critical, so we want to correct the downs. We’re looking to not have as many bad plays, have more good plays, and as many great plays as you can. That’s something we pride ourselves on, that’s what we’re going to keep working towards, and keep growing into. Knowing that we won’t be able to reach perfection, but we can be elite through trying to be perfectionists. We’ll keep putting it together, we’ll keep growing and doing things to better ourselves because we take a lot of pride in it.” On Matthew Stafford’s toughness. “He’s a dog. He’s a dog. It’s great, we have someone who will fight to the end regardless of what’s going on with him personally. I mean, we have got a lot of guys like that on this team honestly. We looked kind of ugly out there tonight at times at least we looked ugly out there. You can’t say that we didn’t care, we just kept fighting. Nobody ever really got down on each other. We just kept encouraging each other on offense and defense and even the special teams guys. We got a lot of those and that’s important. It was important tonight. Good win.”

What The Rams Said Following Their 26-17 Win Over The Seahawks

Transcripts, interviews and press conferences from Seattle vs. Los Angeles Rams