The Los Angeles Rams are relishing their opportunity to host the Super Bowl after seeing off the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
A 20-17 triumph over NFC West rivals the Niners means it is the Rams who will face the Cincinnati Bengals with NFL glory on the line at SoFi Stadium on February 13.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year became the first team to play in a Super Bowl at their home stadium and went one step further by winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy against the Kansas City Chiefs.
And the Rams now have an opportunity emulate the Bucs after reaching their second Super Bowl in the space of four years, with this one on home soil.
"To be able to play at home in this house that Stan Kroenke built, this iconic venue, is really unique," McVay said, per ESPN, after the win over the Niners.
"A little bit easier travel schedule for us since we travelled all over the country during the course of the year. Just so happy with this group and proud to be associated with it.
"We always talk about being totally and completely present, having a short memory for good and bad. Being able to hit that reset button. I thought our guys did that in a big way."
Matthew Stafford led a Rams comeback from 17-7 down. He completed 31 of 45 passes for 337 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Having gone 12 years without a postseason win as a member of the Detroit Lions, the quarterback now has three straight playoff victories and the chance to match the history made by Tom Brady if he wins a fourth.
"It's great that it's here," Stafford said about the home Super Bowl. "If we were playing in it, I didn't give a hell where it was. I'm like, I just want to play in the dang thing.
"But the fact that it's under this roof, it's going to be awesome.
"Our fans did an unbelievable job making it a tough environment. And it's nice to send some of those red jerseys home."
Star wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught both Stafford TD passes in a fine display that saw him make 11 catches for 142 yards.
Odell Beckham Jr (nine catches for 113) was another standout performer and like Stafford he will also play in his first Super Bowl.
"Everything about this place is right, and it's done right," Beckham, who joined in a mid-season trade from the Cleveland Browns, said.
"It's just been an incredible opportunity that I feel like I'm just trying to make the most of. Here we are playing in the Super Bowl, one game away from our dreams. Just keep going."
McVay was effusive in his praise of Stafford after the game and Beckham was similarly complimentary.
"Everything that you could hope and wish for," Beckham said about Stafford.
"He had that look in his eyes the whole game. He motivated us, he pushed us, one play at a time, and he drove us down.
"He's just been doing that all postseason, all season really, since I've been here, he's just had that look on him. Just happy that we could get him to this point.
"I know it was tough for Detroit for a lot of those years. He is having an amazing opportunity and is just gonna take full advantage of it."
The Rams have one Super Bowl title in franchise history, which came in 1999 when they represented the city of St Louis, and three NFL championships overall.
Cincinnati will be making their third appearance in the big dance and are seeking their first title.
Indianapolis Colts turning back to QB Richardson
The Indianapolis Colts are reversing course once again in their search for stability at the quarterback position, as head coach Shane Steichen announced Wednesday that Anthony Richardson has regained the starting job for the remainder of the season.
Steichen said Richardson will be under center for Sunday's key game against the New York Jets. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick was benched in favour of veteran Joe Flacco for the team's two previous contests, losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills.
"He will start this week," Steichen said of Richardson. "He will start the rest of the season, and we're going to go from there."
Richardson was removed from the starting role after noticeably struggling in Indianapolis' 23-20 loss to the AFC South-rival Houston Texans in Week 8, a game in which he completed just 31.3 per cent of his pass attempts and had two turnovers.
The offence has failed to receive a spark from Flacco, however, as the 39-year-old managed just 179 passing yards in the loss to Minnesota and was intercepted three times in last week's 30-20 defeat to the Bills.
Steichen told reporters on Monday that Flacco would remain the starter, but said he changed his mind after witnessing improvement in Richardson's work habits and focus.
"I've said the process, the process for a long time, and what I mean by that is the attention to detail in everything [Richardson] does," Steichen said Wednesday. "From the classrooms, to the walk-throughs to practice, the weight room, all those little things just got to be at a higher standard. That was discussed with him two weeks ago. Those were the conversations that took place. And over the last two weeks he's made strides in those areas, big-time strides, becoming a pro's pro.
"Is he a finished product? No, he's not, and it's my job to help him get there along with the rest of the coaching staff. But he's a hell of a talent. We never lost faith and belief in him and his abilities, and he's shown strides, he really has."
Richardson's second NFL season has been plagued by inconsistent play. Among all quarterbacks with at least 125 pass attempts in 2024, the 22-year-old ranks last in completion percentage (44.4), interception percentage (5.3) and passer rating (57.2).
Staying healthy has also been an issue for the former University of Florida standout. He missed two games in October with an oblique injury and had his rookie campaign cut short after four starts due to a sprained right shoulder that required surgery.
The Colts enter Sunday's matchup having lost three straight games and are a game back of the Denver Broncos in the race for the AFC's final play-off spot.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott to have season-ending surgery
Dak Prescott won't play again for the Dallas Cowboys this season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that Prescott will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair his torn hamstring and is out for the remainder of the season.
"His prognosis is wonderful," Jones said Tuesday on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "It just means we're not going to have him for the rest of the year."
Prescott sustained the injury in the Cowboys' 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on November 3, and he sat out this past Sunday's 34-6 home drubbing by the Philadelphia Eagles - Dallas' fourth consecutive defeat.
There was some hope that he wouldn't need surgery and return this season, but he has decided to have the procedure to repair a partial avulsion of the hamstring tendon.
The recovery time for his surgery is at least three months, and the Super Bowl is just under three months away.
With a 3-6 record, Dallas' chances of making the Super Bowl are slim, and it looks like the franchise will miss the play-offs for the first time since 2020 after going 12-5 each of the past three seasons.
The Cowboys' offence also looked completely inept in its first game without Prescott.
Cooper Rush started against the Eagles, but threw for just 45 yards - the fewest by a Cowboys starting quarterback in a game since Matt Cassel had 37 in a 19-16 loss to the New York Jets in 2015.
Trey Lance ended up replacing Rush, and passed for 21 yards, giving Dallas 66 total passing yards - the fewest by the team in a game since having 34 in a 10-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener after finishing as runner-up in NFL MVP voting in 2023, was off to a slow start to the 2024 season with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions through eight games.
NFL: Dolphins end skid, halt Rams' win streak
Tyreek Hill scored his first touchdown since the season opener and the Miami Dolphins put forth a stout defensive effort to get back in the win column with Monday's 23-15 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Miami (3-6) held the Rams to five Joshua Karty field goals and sacked Matthew Stafford four times to end a three-game losing streak and halt a run of six losses in seven outings. The win was also the first in three starts for Tua Tagovailoa since the star quarterback returned from a concussion that sidelined him four games.
Tagovailoa completed 20 of 28 passes for 207 yards with one interception and had a 1-yard touchdown strike to Hill that gave the Dolphins a 17-6 lead in the third quarter. Hill, who tied for the NFL lead with 13 touchdown catches last season, ended a stretch of seven consecutive games without reaching the end zone.
The Dolphins also got an 18-yard touchdown run from rookie receiver Malik Washington in the first quarter and three field goals from Jason Sanders to end a three-game winning streak for Los Angeles (4-5).
Stafford threw for 293 yards on 32-of-46 passing, but was intercepted once while directing an offence that settled for Karty field goals on three trips inside the red zone.
The Rams also struggled on third downs, converting just three of 12 opportunities while Miami went 6 of 13 in such situations.
Puka Nacua had nine catches for 98 yards for Los Angeles, which dropped to 1 1/2 games back of the first-place Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West. Team-mate Cooper Kupp finished with seven receptions totalling 80 yards.
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