Getty Sean McVay during the Rams' 36-19 rout of the Cleveland Browns on December 3, 2023.
The Los Angeles Rams ruined the Cleveland Browns‘ Week 13 by trouncing them 36-19. But one Browns star had head coach Sean McVay using an expletive to describe how bad it got.
It turns out McVay and Browns defensive end Myles Garrett crossed paths before the game, according to The Athletic’s Zac Jackson.
McVay, riding in an SUV, shouted at Garrett, who was walking toward the visitors locker room at SoFi Stadium. “Hey, I want you to know that you ruined my f****** week worrying about you, all right,” Jackson wrote in a story published December 3.
Garrett played 89% of his team’s defensive snaps but did not register a single statistic for the first time this season.
Was Myles Garrett Not Performing at 100%
McVay spent the week focusing on how to neutralize one of the premier defenders of the NFL. The Rams, however, made Garrett an afterthought.
Garrett said he felt a “pop” in his shoulder during one blocking sequence. He didn’t use the ailment as an excuse.
“[The shoulder] didn’t affect me that much,” Garrett told reporters after the game.
He acknowledged that the Rams had a brilliant strategy to thwart him and the defense.
“They had a great game plan. They got the ball out quick,” Garrett said.
Los Angeles fired the football out quick to prevent Garrett from wrecking plays. Quarterback Matthew Stafford needed less than three seconds to dish the ball out. And a young offensive line was supposed to be eaten alive by Garrett, but the line easily protected Stafford and the offense kept Garrett off of the stat sheet.
“You always want to be able to keep your quarterback clean, pick and choose your spots, but I think it’s real credit to Matthew and then ultimately the player’s execution,” McVay told reporters on December 4. “The offensive line deserves a ton of credit, but I also think it’s a reflection of the entire unit. Matthew, those guys that are protecting, the backs, tight ends, even receivers separating in the timing and rhythm. Those are things that have been in alignment with good efficient football.”
The Rams gashed the Browns for 399 total yards and Stafford was never sacked.
Matthew Stafford Shares Strong Statement About Rams Line Play
Stafford said he was thankful that he had a clean uniform after the game?
“My guys we’re balling today so I was so fired up,” Stafford told reporters postgame. “That’s a hell of a rush. They were bringing pressures, they were rushing four, they were doing all sorts of stuff to us and our guys to step up there and protect the way they did today was amazing. And then be able to really lean on them in the fourth quarter too and run the rock when we needed to.”
Last season Stafford was unable to play in any December games. Spinal cord contusion took that away. The Super Bowl winner tried to play in front of a decimated offensive line bit by the injury bug. This time, the 2023 front five gave him all the time he needed — even with Garrett across the way.
“So proud of those guys. It shows up the way they work, the way they go about their business every single day. I thought we had a great plan but shoot, we threw the rock. We weren’t sitting there just protecting those guys up front. We were just saying let’s go play our game and have a lot of confidence in those guys and proud of the way they played,” Stafford said.