Rams - 34, Panthers - 31
SEAN MCVAY: ... creating that clarity. Can't jump offsides on third-and-5. But what I will say, in spite of all of that they found a way to be their best in the most important moments. We get the kick blocked, they end up scoring. And then Matthew orchestrating an unbelievable drive. A bunch of guys made big-time, a bunch plays.
What a play by Konata Mumpfield on second-and-10 to get us a first down. And then Colby Parkinson, what a stud. Matthew had trust against a really good player, one-on-one on the front pylon, and he goes up gets it. It's been kind of par for the course.
Matthew trusts in his guys, guys delivering in the critical moments. Really grateful.
And unbelievable job by our defense. Good job by the kickoff coverage to pin them deep. And then to go four straight plays where they don't even get a single yard, awesome job by the defense right there.
Proud of the way that we finished, excited to be able to clean up a lot of things.
Q. You talked about Matthew's resolve a lot. What did you notice out of him those two drives to score when he's down, the way he played the way he managed?
SEAN MCVAY: I think you said it with your question. He was just in total command, total control. They did a bunch of good things. I've got a ton of respect for Ejiro.
Their players made it difficult. Got some good players on the perimeter that ended up being pretty active. They brought a little more pressure, which had been an uptick in their identity over the last couple of weeks. But he was steady.
It was MVP type of stuff, what he did. Just good, calm, I thought he redirected a couple of the protections that allowed him not to be hot where we would have been. And on all of those plays he ended up finding completions. And he got a bunch of different guys involved. I thought he saw the field really well. And that's why we're advancing because of his leadership.
Q. Did he play through something with his --
SEAN MCVAY: You'll have to talk to him about it. He he got it banged up. You could see him shaking. But he delivered a damn good throw on the next play that our guy will typically make that one. But he'll be better equipped to answer that for you.
Q. (Indiscernible) the games this year that were very similar to this you guys lost.
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah.
Q. Were you thinking about that on that final drive?
SEAN MCVAY: I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about that I'm really glad that we had a lot of those moments where we talked about our scars being our strength. And fortunately we were able to be at our best in those most important moments. And all three phases we're collectively involved in that.
You go down four points. You say, all right, get the ball back. It was a decent return by Ronnie, too, that puts us in not bad field position, Matthew takes us right down the field. You're thinking, man, maybe we gave them a little bit too much time.
Good coverage by the kickoff team to pin them inside the 30. Like I said, four-and-out with the defense. Here we go, man. You guys have got to listen to me talk another week.
Q. Talk about Matthew's calmness.
SEAN MCVAY: Not as funny as I used to be. Is this thing on? (Laughter.)
Q. You talked about how calm he was on that final drive. Could you describe where you were in that final drive with him?
SEAN MCVAY: Yeah, I think we were both, you're just immersing yourself in the moment. I think in a lot of instances, when I'm watching games with some of my close friends, or you get more nervous watching that than -- you don't have the time to really think about it.
You just immerse yourself, see the game one play at a time, try to put the players in a position to have successful outcomes. You're not thinking about anything else. You're just in that moment.
And I could feel Matthew and I were on the same page. He did such a great job. I did feel really good that you knew you had four downs. Never even got to that point where we needed to even really get to it a third down, but he was outstanding.
Q. Nacua had two touchdowns there early. Dropped the ball at the end of the half, and then the pass breakup.
SEAN MCVAY: That was such a big play. I'm glad you asked about that. Gets the pass breakup. Kyren does a great job converting on fourth-and-1. And then we end up being able to punch that thing in with Kyren on the option route, which was a great job by him on the second-and-6, which was -- Puka did a great job getting a tough four yards on the jet sweep on the previous play.
He's a freakin' warrior. He's well-deserving of being voted unanimously as an All-Pro. That's how he's played for us. He just responds.
Even that one drop, he's so hard on himself, but he comes back. He makes the plays. That pass breakup was unbelievable.
And that's what great players do is they just play the next play. Love him. Grateful he's on our squad.
Q. You had chances in the first half to separate yourself and didn't, obviously. When you look at all the great things you did in the stretch, how do you separate when you go and analyze this game and go home?
SEAN MCVAY: I think you be honest about it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. You give Carolina credit. They did a good job of being able to make it difficult for us. They scored. Bryce was able to make some plays with his legs to kind of extend and create a little bit off schedule.
And we end up starting the half three-and-out. They had a great pass breakup and then they end up having a free runner on the second down and we don't convert on the third down.
So you give them credit. But, man, I'm so grateful to be able to have the learning opportunities in spite of us being able to win this game because we're going to need to play better if we expect to advance past this round. But never take it for granted. Grateful to have another week with this team I love.
Q. You talked earlier about some of the difficulties they gave you on the perimeter to the corners and playing really well. All season you guys started switching back to the middle of the field and attacking there. What were those adjustments like? What did you see there that maybe left --
SEAN MCVAY: It was a give-and-take based on some of the different coverages. Jackson and Horn are as good of a tandem as there is. When Horn ended up going out, you bring another guy in.
But I thought our guys made the plays that they needed to. And they made their plays. That's what great players do. That's what you love about this league.
But ultimately, the players did a nice job. And there were some times that they were playing a little bit of shell, and we tried to be able to attack the inside part of the field and had some successful outcomes.
And then there were some times where I'll look at myself and say, man, I wish I had done a better job of putting our guys in a more advantageous spot. And I'll be kicking myself for that. And hopefully don't make those same mistakes next week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports