Getty Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay yells from the sidelines against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 19.
An ejection of one Los Angeles Rams starting defender, a special teams fumble that hit a leg, an 11-point lead that evaporated in the Hoosier State’s largest city…
And the Rams prevented an injury- decimated Indianapolis Colts team from stunning the pro football world on Sunday, September 19.
The 27-24 road win for L.A., though, was so mentally taxing for the head coach of the winning side Sean McVay, that he already began thinking about opening up his tab or wallet by sharing these four words to reporters who sat inside his press conference:
“I need a beer,” was what McVay muttered as he walked away from the media.
“I need a beer,” Sean McVay says as he exits his postgame news conference.
What sequences took the mental toll from McVay and the Rams? And what plays ensured there would be no excessive drunken vibes from McVay? A breakdown.
The Ejection
We’ll start here, because this removal helped energize the Colts’ comeback attempt.
Inside linebacker starter Kenny Young, fresh off of a difference making performance in the 20-point romp of Chicago to open the year, got into a heated scuffle with Colts wide receiver Zach Pascal that involved pushing, shoving, taunting and finally…this below.
Update: ILB Kenny Young disqualified from the contest. Unsportsmanlike conduct, contact with an official.
A slow motion video proof of the altercation between Young and the ref sparked through the internet. The clip below shows Young appearing to attempt to throw a punch at the ref. By NFL rule, players who make physical contact with an official are immediately tossed from the game.
Kenny Young was ejected for making contact with an official. Here´s the replay. #LARvsIND
Aaron Donald himself had to come over to his fellow defender to try to fan the flames of fury from Young.
Aaron Donald had some words with teammate Kenny Young after a foolish penalty.
That occurred at 4:53 of the third quarter with the Colts down by 11. And the Colts immediately began their rally with Carson Wentz connected with Pascal on a 8-yard red zone strike fired down the middle of the defense.
Zip it right in there for ZP.
📺 FOX
The Special Teams Blunder
The right leg of Nick Scott, without moving a single muscle, then led to a rare Colts score.
Lined up to punt, Scott shifted over to the left in front of Rams punter Johnny Hekker. The ball, however, trekked to the direction of Scott’s knee…and chaos and six points for the Colts came out of that.
The Colts Twitter page, however, bragged on social media that the special teams blunder was actually a play they drew up.
Just how we drew it up.
📺 FOX
Obviously, moments like those would cause any coach or Ram fan to be tempted to hit the bottle. Luckily for the Rams, there were two familiar faces that brought the football version of cheers.
A Kupp of Joy
On two early plays, Cooper Kupp delivered a 43-yard catch on a screen pass and was all alone on this 16-yard score.
There was, though, a play where the Rams thought they can bust the jet sweep to Kupp on a third down and short call. Darius Leonard, however, read it perfectly.
Darius Leonard makes the stop on 3rd and short!
But Kupp was the wideout who bailed out the Rams during their 21-17 deficit.
First, Matthew Stafford found his Eastern Washington representative down the left sidelines for a 44-yard strike that placed the ball at the Indianapolis 10-yard line. Then the veteran of five NFL seasons erased the last two sequences for the Rams for good with the last touchdown of the day.
Operating out of a trips formation, Kupp snuck behind not one, but two defensive backs on this touchdown.
MAKE IT ✌️ FOR COOOOOOP!
@CooperKupp finds the endzone again!
‘Cinco Mode’ to win the Game
Needing one more defensive stop with the lead at 27-24, who did the Rams turn to? A defensive player they can rely on during this sequence and a man who went into “Cinco Mode” as the Rams call it.
Jalen Ramsey, playing his zone coverage, read the overthrown pass by Jacob Eason and immediately took advantage.
CINCO MODE 😈
@JalenRamsey with the huge INT!!
Before his beer reference, McVay still spoke about the resilience of the Rams even after nearly losing their 17-6.
“They made plays when they had to, and that’s what great teams do. And to get to 2-0 is something we don’t take for granted,” McVay said to the L.A. media after the game. “A lot of teams would fold in those circumstances. At some point, you’re going to have to display that toughness and that ability to continue to play each and every snap. Move on from one snap to the next.”
The Rams were able to escape from going 1-1. But turns out McVay wasn’t the only one needing a brew.
#Rams Head Coach Sean McVay concluded his postgame press conference with: “I need a beer.”
Me too, Sean. Me too.
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