NFL

'A very humbling season' - McVay chastened after Rams eliminated from play-off contention

By Sports Desk December 20, 2022

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay acknowledged 2022 has been "a very humbling season" after the Super Bowl champions were eliminated from play-off contention.

Less than a year on from winning Super Bowl LVI, an injury-wrecked Rams side slipped to a 24-12 loss against the Green Bay Packers on Monday to officially put the postseason beyond their reach.

No Baker Mayfield heroics were able to save them this time around, and with a 4-10 record, they are tied with the 1999 Denver Broncos for the most losses coming off claiming the sport's biggest prize.

Asked whether he could have imagined his side's underperformance just months on from the greatest high of all, McVay acknowledged it had been a chastening campaign for his team and himself.

"I think it's hard to say that you could [have expected this]," he said. "You certainly can't, but this is the reality that we're in, and this is where we're at.

"My job is to focus on [finishing] up the season with the right competitive spirit, with the mindset and mentality that's reflective of who those guys are in the locker room and who those coaches are.

"There's been a lot of things I've thought about that I think you can make sense of, but it still doesn't make it any easier. It's a very humbling season, for sure."

McVay was adamant the Rams will not fold in the remaining weeks of the campaign, even with only pride to play for now, and credited his team for their performances amid a number of trying situations.

"This has been a real struggle in a lot of instances, a lot of adversity that we've gone through," he added. "But I think what we've seen from our guys is they're going to continue to battle.

"They're going to finish up these last three games the right way, with the right mindset and mentality, and we'll compete to the best of our ability.

"That's all I know how to do, and I trust that that's exactly what we'll do collectively as a group."

Related items

  • Cleveland Browns trade wide receiver Cooper to Buffalo Bills Cleveland Browns trade wide receiver Cooper to Buffalo Bills

    The Buffalo Bills have given their offence a boost, while the Cleveland Browns may be signalling they're giving up on the season.

    The Bills acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Browns on Tuesday in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2026 seventh-rounder.

    As part of the trade, Buffalo will also receive a 2025 sixth-round pick.

    Cooper was drafted fourth overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2015, and in 10 seasons since his rookie year, he ranks eighth in receptions (691), seventh in receiving yards (9,736) and seventh in touchdown catches (62).

     

    He only had 24 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns in six games in 2024, but part of his lack of production has to do with the poor play of quarterback Deshaun Watson.

    In 2023, he had 72 catches for 1,250 yards with five TDs to earn a fifth Pro Bowl selection.

    He now joins a Buffalo team that is led by star quarterback Josh Allen, but is without a clear-cut No. 1 receiver following the off-season departure of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.

    Tight end Dalton Kincaid leads the Bills with 21 receptions for 217 yards, while receiver Khali Shakir has 20 catches for 249 yards.

    In Buffalo's 23-20 win over the New York Jets on Monday night, the Bills did not have a receiver catch more than three passes.

    Despite being without a star receiver, the Bills are atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record.

    The Browns, meanwhile, dropped to 1-5 with another inept offensive showing in Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

    Cooper will have his first opportunity to be on the field with his new team this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

  • New York Jets acquire wide receiver Adams from Las Vegas Raiders New York Jets acquire wide receiver Adams from Las Vegas Raiders

    Davante Adams will be reunited with Aaron Rodgers.

    The Las Vegas Raiders traded Adams to the New York Jets on Tuesday for a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-rounder depending upon his production from the remainder of the 2024 NFL season.

    The trade, which was being finalised less than 24 hours after the Jets suffered a tough 23-20 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, makes Adams and Rodgers team-mates again.

    Adams and Rodgers played together for eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2014-21, with Adams catching 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns.

    Among active players, no quarterback-receiver combo has more receptions or touchdowns.

     

    A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Adams ranks second among all active players in touchdown catches (96), and fourth in both receptions (890) and yards (10,990).

    The Raiders acquired Adams prior to the 2022 season for a first- and second-round draft pick, and then signed him to a five-year, $140million contract with $65.7million guaranteed.

    In his first season in Las Vegas with his former college quarterback, Derek Carr, Adams had 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns to earn a third straight first-team All-Pro selection. The Raiders, however, finished 6-11 and Carr was benched late in the season.

    Las Vegas went 8-9 in 2023, with Adams finishing with 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight TDs.

    The Raiders are off to a sluggish start this season at 2-4 and Adams has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, while there had been speculation that the star receiver was seeking a trade.

    He now joins a team that is also scuffling, as New York also dropped to 2-4 with its latest defeat with Rodgers throwing a costly interception in the final minutes.

    If his hamstring is healthy enough, Adams could be on the field Sunday night, when the Jets visit the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

  • Buffalo Bills extend New York Jets' skid Buffalo Bills extend New York Jets' skid

    Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown, and the Buffalo Bills intercepted Aaron Rodgers with under two minutes left to hold on for a 23-20 win over the turmoil-laden New York Jets on Monday.

    Tyler Bass' 22-yard field goal with 3:43 remaining snapped a 20-20 tie and helped send New York (2-4) to its third straight loss in its first game since firing head coach Robert Saleh last week and replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. 

    The Jets also stripped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett of play-calling duties during their shake-up, with passing game coordinator Todd Downing taking over that role for Monday's game.

    The switch allowed Rodgers to throw for a season-high 294 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard Hail Mary heave to Allen Lazard to end the first half. However, the four-time NFL MVP's final pass of the night, a deep ball intended for Mike Williams, was picked off by Taron Johnson with 1:52 left to play before the Bills ran out the clock.

    Allen had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then connected with Mack Hollins and Dawson Knox on touchdown passes in the second as the Bills built a 20-10 lead prior to Lazard's leaping grab in the end zone just before half-time.

    The Jets tied the game at 20-20 on Greg Zuerlein's 22-yard field goal with 6:13 left in the third quarter, but the veteran kicker missed two other attempts later on that would have put New York ahead.

    Allen finished with 215 yards on 19-of-25 passing as Buffalo (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and extended its lead atop the AFC East to 1 1/2 games. Rookie Ray Davis rushed for a career-high 97 yards in place of Bills' top running back James Cook, who was inactive with a toe injury.

    Lazard racked up 114 yards on six catches in the loss, while the Jets also got 107 yards and a touchdown on eight catches from Garrett Wilson and 113 rushing yards from Breece Hall.

     

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.