McVay says Rams ‘helped me find my way again’

DETROIT — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay stood at the podium at Ford Field on Sunday night, still in disbelief that his team’s season had ended with a 24-23 playoff loss to the Detroit Lions in the wild-card round.

A little more than a year ago, McVay stood at a different podium, this one in Los Angeles, and said he was unsure if he would be back as coach of the Rams in 2023. But not long after the regular season ended — with a 5-12 record, McVay’s worst since he was hired in 2017 — he decided he wasn’t ready to walk away.

After a 3-6 start to the 2023 season and injuries to quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Kyren Williams, it looked like the Rams were headed down the same path. Instead, Los Angeles won seven of its last eight games of the season to clinch the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

“I’m so proud of this football team,” McVay said. “And the finality of it is still kind of … it doesn’t totally resonate. But man did I learn a lot and really appreciate this group. They helped me find my way again and how much I love this and love the people that I’m around.”

Rams rookie nose tackle Kobie Turner said McVay told the team that “there’s a lot of room to grow, a lot to build off of, and the foundation that we laid this year will go on to hopefully do a lot of bigger and better things.”

“So just keep pushing and that this team is definitely, regardless of the outcome here tonight, is going to go down as one of the most special teams that he’s ever been around,” Turner said of McVay’s message to the team after the game.

Stafford, who said he plans to be back next season, said he was “so proud of this team” for defying preseason expectations. The Rams’ over/under for wins heading into the season was 6.5, a mark Los Angeles bested with a 10-7 regular-season record.

“Nobody gave us a chance to even be sniffing where we are right now, and [we] gave a really good football team a run for their money,” Stafford said. “Didn’t get it done, but proud of the guys, proud of their effort from the coaching staff, players, everybody involved in it. It was a fun year, a hell of a year and something to be proud of.”

Wide receiver Puka Nacua ended his rookie season with another record-setting performance. With 9 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown, Nacua set the NFL rookie record for most receiving yards in a playoff game.

On the injury front, the Rams believe tight end Tyler Higbee, who took a hit from Lions safety Kerby Joseph in the fourth quarter, tore his ACL, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Higbee will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the initial diagnosis.

Although the loss to the Lions was still settling in, McVay said he thinks there’s “a lot” the Rams can build on going forward.

“I think the further that you get away from the raw emotions of it, the more appreciation they’ll have for what they did,” McVay said. “And I think there’s a lot of things that we can build on, but you got to do it. … And this group is an example of it. The preseason stuff doesn’t mean s—. You got to be able to go earn it. And every single year is a new year, but I do think we’ve got a lot of really key and critical guys that we’re excited about building and continuing to develop and work with.”