Sean McVay to coach Rams vs. Cardinals despite illness

The Los Angeles Rams are hoping to bounce back from their defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers last week when they travel to Arizona Sunday to take on the Cardinals in Week 14. The Rams (9-3) have played consistently throughout the majority of the season and the last thing that head coach Sean McVay wants to see his team do is drop a second consecutive game as a significant favorite.

The Rams will have McVay on the sideline for this game. There was some doubt about that because McVay has been sick. However, the Rams announced Saturday that the head coach would be leading his team in this game. McVay did not travel with the team to Arizona, but he was planning to fly separately to Arizona.

In addition to the illness, McVay suffered a torn plantar fascia in his foot as a result of a sideline incident in the first month of the season. Between his illness and the foot injury, McVay has had a difficult time maintaining his usual coaching energy on the sidelines.

Rams still in charge in the NFC West

Despite their Week 13 loss at Carolina, the Rams are still tied for first place in the NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams defeated the Seahawks when the two teams met in Week 11 at SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles earned a 21-19 victory, keyed by their 4 interceptions against Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.

The Rams have been led by the brilliance of quarterback Matthew Stafford this season. Stafford is a legitimate MVP candidate as he has completed 266 of 401 passes for 3,073 yards with a 32-4 touchdown to interception ratio.

Stafford has gotten excellent support from running back Kyren Williams in the ground game. Williams has rushed for 868 yards and has averaged 4.74 yards per carry while scoring 7 touchdowns. Puka Nacua is one of the toughest receivers in the league and does an excellent job  of catching the ball in traffic and has caught 86-1,019-4.