Sep 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay walks from the tunnel for action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Why There Should Be No Questioning Rams' Sean McVay

Originally posted on Los Angeles Rams on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Los Angeles Rams lost a heartbreaker on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. It was a game many expected them to win and one they needed to win to stay at the top of the NFC West. But that was not the case for this team.

It was a game where the Rams came out slow, and their opponent and rival, the San Francisco 49ers, came out swinging from the start. It was a game the Rams were the favorites in because of all the injuries the 49ers had to their starting players.

At one point in this game, the Rams were down 20-7 in the third quarter. That is when the rally for the Rams happened. It all started with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. In the second half, he finally found his form and was connecting with his offensive weapons. He brought them all the way back and tied the game to send it to overtime. That is when the 49ers went down and scored a field goal to go ahead by three.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Did Sean McVay Cost the Rams in Week 5?

Stafford got the ball back and drove the Rams down inside the red zone. But on a fourth down with the game on the line, the Rams were not able to get a yard to extend this game. It was a running play to Kyren Williams that had a lot of people questioning head coach Sean McVay.

"Yes, I agree with whatever Sean McVay does," said NFL analyst Ryan Clark on First Take. "Sean McVay is a made man to me. This was a team that was averaging 4.6 yards a carry. This is a team that is up by a touchdown early one or late in the fourth quarter if Kyren Williams does not fumble the football. And the way they got to this play call was trying to see if when we put 11 personnel on the field with one tight end, and three receivers, how the 49ers are going to match us."

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"Are they going to bring out an extra defensive back, which they did. You have one of the best blocking wide receivers in all of football in Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington, with is a stud, and sometimes your men have to move the other man, and the Rams did not do that. Sean McVay did not make Blake Corum fumble a pitch. He did not make Kyren Williams fumble the ball heading into the endzone. He did not allow a field goal to be blocked again."

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Rams on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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