Rams' McVay Shares Perspective in Overcoming Recent Slow Starts

Former Rams assistant Zac Taylor listened to Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase this offseason. In Games 1-2 over the last six years, the Bengals have gone a combined 1-11 since 2019. The Bengals' head coach has concluded that playing his starters more in the preseason is the best treatment. And while the Rams have struggled out of the gates similarly, Sean McVay is taking a different approach.

“I could give you reasons for why I think each of those last two years started the way that they did,” McVay told Kay Adams on Thursday. “I don't think they're related. Ultimately, every year is a new year.”

After winning the Super Bowl in 2021, the Rams opened 2-3 on their way to a 3-9 start in 2022. The following season, they started 1-2 and sat three games below .500 at the bye before rallying to the playoffs by winning seven of their last eight. And then last year, Los Angeles lost three of its first four before a 9-2 stretch that clinched another trip to the postseason.

McVay doesn’t see a macro trend, though. He said Thursday he’s learned over nine seasons to see different symptoms coming from different viruses.

“I think when you talk about going into Year 9,” he said, “you have a real appreciation perspective. You get up there and you say the coachspeak stuff, but when you really say the amount of time in between, the usual turnover, the way that other teams adjust and adapt, every single year is a new year.

“What we did last year, I think you can draw on some positive experiences of resilience, overcoming adversity. But it's about how this team comes together, how do we shape the way that we work, the energy that we bring, the enjoyment we have for working together and each other, and what kind of mindset are we able to establish in the midst of inevitable adversity and ebbs and flows that a season brings?”

All critical questions, and no one questions McVay’s uncanny ability to architect team culture. That’s why there’s trust in his approach this year, especially if he opts to rest Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams and other aging Rams pillars during the preseason.

Culture-building ability is the reason McVay has improved from fourth in the annual CBS head-coach rankings in 2023 (behind Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick) to second in both 2024 and 2025. He’s also the reason the Rams have unmatched hope, even if they falter out of the gates like they did the last three seasons.

“Sean McVay is a bankable asset,” said Yahoo! senior insider Frank Schwab, who ranked the Rams No. 12 in his preseason NFL power rankings. “He will always get the most out of his roster. Even though there are some reasons to believe the Rams might regress, I'm willing to give McVay the benefit of the doubt and believe he can guide a quickly developing defense and a strong offensive core to another winning record.”

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