Los Angeles - 20, Seattle - 10
SEAN MCVAY: Okay, guys. You know, first of all, what an incredible job, really, by our organization as a whole; staff, coaches, players.
I mean, you know, you look at Reggie and his group, Sophie Harland, so many people were instrumental getting us in a position to play this game.
And I couldn't be more impressed with just our coaches, our players' ability to be able to bottle up. There was a lot of emotions. This was a heavy week navigating the things we went through.
But for our guys to come in here, perform the way that they did, I thought the fans were outstanding. Just so many people. And, you know, this was a big time win for our team.
And it wasn't perfect by any stretch, but I thought there was a lot of key plays that were instrumental. I loved the response from the offense after we went down 10-3.
I thought our defense as a whole was outstanding throughout the course of the day. Jalen Ramsey showed up, Aaron Donald. Those guys continue to make their plays.
I thought really our rush as a whole. And then for Taylor Rapp to be able to finish it out. But defense was great.
Matthew and Cooper made their plays. I thought Sony Michel ran, tough, physical, and hard. Guys just played. And then Matt Gay continues to shine.
I thought our teams were really good today. And this was a tough, hard earned win. That's a really tough group. Got a lot of respect for Coach Carroll and the Seahawks. And you could see, they had some good momentum coming into this game after beating San Francisco and then had a really outstanding performance against Houston last week.
So, really, great job. Also, I think it's incredible. Matthew Stafford, I was just told, fastest quarterback to 50,000 yards and then all the records that Cooper has set. Two of our captains. Two of the most important guys that are instrumental in terms of their leadership and then also their play and just what they mean to me and to our team.
So, really happy to get this. And then, you know, we'll start our preparation for the Vikings tomorrow.
Q. Sean, it feels like every time Cooper does something insane or breaks some sort of record, he comes in here and has no idea what he just did --
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah.
Q. -- or accomplished. Does that surprise you at all at this point?
SEAN MCVAY: No. I mean, I think he has an idea of how well he is playing. But he is truly one of the most humble, special players I have ever been around.
And, you know, he doesn't need all the accolades. I think it's great that he gets his first Pro Bowl recognition. I don't know how he's not going to be a First Team All Pro prayer. I think he's a legitimate candidate for a lot of awards.
But he is about our team. You know, he's interested in leading the right way, making the plays that are instrumental and vital to the outcomes of, really, our team's success. And he does a lot of stuff without the football, as well. But he's so special, Jordan. Both you and I know that. Pretty cool.
Q. You talked about the fact that everybody on this team has really -- for everything that you've been through. Talk more about that. Like, everybody on the same page, everybody right where they needed to be.
SEAN MCVAY: It's amazing, Maria. It certainly has been a whirlwind. You know, for our guys, Raheem joked, he said we're like the Lakers, we got a couple shootarounds earlier this week, and then we rolled it out and played. And so, I think that's well said.
But our guys, you talk about a mature football team. It's later on in the year, but we got a lot of our guys -- I think Les and his group did a great job of filling out some of the practice squad looks.
And just the entirety of our roster, you know, for us to look at practice in a manner that's getting ready for a good football team.
I think what we've seen from this team, Maria, is these guys are mentally tough. They've stayed connected.
You know, some of the adverse moments we've been through, these guys find a positive in that. I think that's really developed a good armor for us to sustain the adversity and respond the right way. Whether it's in games or throughout the course of the week. And really proud of this team, really proud of these players.
Q. Were you missing coaches today?
SEAN MCVAY: We were. Yes, we were missing Thomas Brown and Zak Kromer and hopefully we'll get them back sooner than later.
Q. How satisfied were you with that mix with the running backs personnel all and some of those drives?
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah, you know, Sony got the majority of the workload. I thought Darrell came in and did a nice job. You know, he was getting kind of his wind underneath them. He had a couple big time carries. But I thought Sony was outstanding today.
You know, Thomas Brown is such a leader for that room, he's assistant head coach, running back coach. He has a great feel during the course of the game.
I thought Zac Robinson did a great job being able to spell those guys, have a good feel, communicate with them in between drives. And so, Sony was outstanding and then Darrell did a nice job with the opportunities he had today.
Q. Along the lines of mental toughness, there was one sequence early in the fourth quarter where, like, three or four consecutive offensive guys were moving the pile.
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah.
Q. Getting extra yards. Is that kind of an illustration of not just today but all along?
SEAN MCVAY: It is. And I thought it's been especially relevant these last three weeks. You know, you look at it, our guys, they tightened up when they had to be at their best.
Sony was leveling runs off. The one you're talking about is probably when Darrell got that really good push, you know, in kind of one of our downhill direct runs. I thought that was a tone setting play for us.
And then, really, once the defense makes the stop on fourth down, the first play of that sequence where Sony breaks it out, the presence to stay in bounds where the clock's -- you run another 40 seconds off the clock and then ultimately Matt Gay coming in and delivering the field goal to put us up 10.
So many things but I thought the offensive line did a great job in particular when we had to run it to be able to close out the game.
Q. Sean, with everything that's happened this week, to not only get this win in the COVID craziness, but to rally, you've talked all year about this team, did that kind of put a few exclamation points behind the character for you?
SEAN MCVAY: I think it did, Curt. It was really -- it was special by those guys. And it makes it that much sweeter when you see guys just stay connected, stay together.
It wasn't always perfect. And there was some opportunities that I think we're going to be able to learn from, similar to what Cooper was saying before I walked in here.
But guys didn't flinch, they didn't blink. They just stayed the course, we stayed connected as a team.
You know, for them to come out, they had a good drive to start out the second half, they go up 10-3, and then what happens? We respond right away.
You know, there was some -- there was some big time plays. But, you know, Sony's -- you know, Sony's toughness, the one long run he broke out when were in the shotgun, and he ended up getting the stiff arm.
And then to be able to have Matthew deliver a nice timing throw to Cooper to finish out that drive for the touchdown was key to get back to 10-10.
And then I thought we had the momentum from the rest of the point from then on for remainder of the game.
Q. You touched earlier on this being kind of an emotional sort of weighing or heavy week leading up to it. Guys like Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, seemingly with an ability to bottle that and face it in the right direction. What does that mean as this defense sort of gathers its identity?
SEAN MCVAY: I thought -- you know, those two guys are so special to us. They're team captains. Missing Jordan Fuller, I thought Ernest Jones did a great job handling it today.
But Jalen and Aaron are First Team All Pro players for a reason. They're a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year guys. They're so special. They're one of one at what they do.
And their leadership, their ability to be able to bottle that up, I think anybody that's great at what they do, Jordan, has a mental toughness and resilience. And, certainly, both those two guys really stand out and check the boxes on both of those things.
I also thought Raheem and our defensive coaching staff did a great job. You talk about a great plan, being able to maximize it. It was really up until this morning, you don't really know if you're getting some key players like Von and just all the moving parts.
I think it really showed great agility by Raheem and his group; Joe DeCamillis, and Dwayne Stukes, Kevin O'Connell and the offensive coaches. And, you know, those guys did an outstanding guy. But Jalen and Aaron were special tonight, Jordan.
Q. What was the most challenging for you leading up through this week and what do you think it's going to be as you guys get ready?
SEAN MCVAY: You know, I don't think I'd ever look at it like that, Gary. I think it was take it one moment at a time and figure out what is the way we can have a solution-oriented mindset.
I was very fortunate. And I mentioned this earlier, but with the league and the PA to be able to work in coordination, to be able to move this game back. I thought that was key for us to be able to play this game.
You know, with the amount of guys that we're going to miss, you know, I don't even know if we had enough guys to field a team. But I didn't really look at it like that.
It was just, Hey, let's be in the moment, let's take it one step at a time, and let's figure out a way to maximize the guys we do have.
Our preparation, given clarity, I thought the way they had kept the tension on some of these ZOOM meetings and translate that to, really, two days of on the field preparation was big time.
You know, but it was kind of a buildup to this game where you got a little bit better information every day.
It started to just get a little bit brighter, and hopefully we'll get some guys back from Minnesota because that's going to be a really tough game.
Q. (No microphone.)
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah, I thought they did a really good job. I think Kendall, really, the last couple weeks, he's been asked to step up. Missing Tyler Higbee. Been really pleased with him.
I also thought Brycen Hopkins, you know, that third down that he had, was a big time play for us. And then Ben Skowronek, he's a sharp, savvy, smart football player, he's tough.
You know, he's going to only remember the one play where he was trying to get vertical before he ended up catching it. But he had four catches for over 40 yards that were big time. And he's just going to continue to grow and get better and better for us, both on offense and on teams.
Q. When you picture what this team can be, how far or how close do you think you are to that given the COVID thing? It doesn't seem like it's going to be going away. How optimistic are you that you're going to be able to practice?
SEAN MCVAY: I am optimistic just based on the new protocols and based on what we've learned about this.
So many of the people that were affected by this, Dylan, were asymptomatic. And, you know, you want to be smart.
I think we want to make sure -- you know, we're going to have to alter and adjust our schedule the way we operate for the rest of the way. But I think that's going to be consistent with the rest of the league.
What we have going for us is we have a situation in a setting similar to last year, we can operate outside because the weather, for the most part is so great.
Now, I think it's supposed to rain this week, where we might have to come down to SoFi and be able to practice here.
We're just in the moment right now. I think the most important thing is let's play our best ball in the month of December. And we've strung together three good performances.
Has it been perfect? Certainly not. I think we've developed some resilience, some toughness. And we're just trying to establish an identity that's in alignment with giving ourselves a chance, if we do get fortunate enough to be able to play after the regular season, let's peak at the right time.
And what that looks like is an exciting thing for us. But, you know, for now, we'll enjoy this. We'll come back tomorrow and get ready for a tough Minnesota team.
Q. Kind of to follow that point. A couple points during this press conference, tonight, you seem almost overcome that there are things that are going on in your mind that have happened over these last three weeks. Where is your head at right now and what have you learned about yourself?
SEAN MCVAY: I think where my head is at, I'm grateful for this team. I've been reminded -- not really reminded, but you're just so appreciative of the guys that you go to work with, our organization, you know, our players, our coaches.
You know, that's why you go to work and you work so hard, to try to experience moments like what we had in the locker room.
But, also, sometimes that adversity -- you know, I look at it as every single week represents a chapter in the book. And these guys are writing a special book right now.
And I think some of the adversity that we experienced in the month of November makes these moments that much sweeter. Let's continue to build on it.
But I'm just appreciative to do this with people that I love and care about. And I am -- I am tired right now. This has been emotionally and physically exhausting.
We'll get some rest and then we'll get back at this thing tomorrow and have a zest for life, Jordan. It'll be good.
Q. (Question concerning Sony Michel.)
SEAN MCVAY: He's been awesome. I think he's really brought a toughness to our offense. You know, you saw the body of work that he had at New England.
You know, I think about when they ended up beating us in the Super Bowl. That stretch run, they really shifted their identity where they leaned on him and they were pounding, they were physical. We've been able to do that with him.
And I thought he made some key plays in the pass game. He's so tough in blitz pickup. He's really a complete back. He's brought so much to us. He's so conscience. Thomas Brown's done a great job.
But I think more than anything, he's brought a toughness, he's brought an ability to sustain possessions. You can see that time of possession has really tilted in our direction in a positive way.
And I think you're seeing that show up with, Hey, how does that affect us playing complementary football. Our rushes getting home, we look fresher on defense. And I think that's why we played so well as a team these last three weeks.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports