Rams' Sean McVay addresses losing to Lions' Jared Goff

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke glowingly about Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff after McVay's Rams lost Sunday night's wild-card playoff game at the Lions, 24-23. 

"I thought they were excellent," McVay said about the Lions, per Kory Woods of MLive. "Jared was really efficient. You can see the command that he has. I think there’s a lot made of it, but I’m really happy for him. Obviously, we wanted to come away with the win, but he’s done a great job. I think the grit, the resilience, and the way that he’s done his thing here over the last three years, I’m happy for Jared, and I certainly am appreciative of the four years that we had together."

While Goff acknowledged last week that the chip on his shoulder related to being traded by the Rams to Detroit in March 2021 will likely "never leave" him, McVay has said on multiple occasions he probably could've handled the signal-caller's departure better. 

Of course, McVay likely would pull the trigger on the trade again in a heartbeat considering the transaction landed the Rams Matthew Stafford, who helped the franchise win Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. 

"(But) I wouldn’t want anyone else as our quarterback other than Matthew Stafford," McVay continued. "He was outstanding, he was gritty, he was gutsy, he made tough throw after tough throw. The rush was barreling down on him. He stood in there and was dropping dimes all day, and we just came up a little bit short in the red area. But he certainly gave us a chance, and we would’ve never been in this situation without Matthew Stafford’s leadership, his guidance, and his resilience."

Goff completed 22-of-27 passes for 277 yards with a touchdown in Detroit's one-point victory that guaranteed the NFC North champions they'll have at least one more home playoff game this month. To compare, Stafford connected on 25-of-36 attempts for 367 yards and two scores. 

As of late Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Lions as second among the betting favorites at +380 odds to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII. Detroit will host either the No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the No. 5 Philadelphia Eagles in the next round of the postseason tournament. Tampa Bay welcomes Philadelphia to Raymond James Stadium on Monday night.