If the Los Angeles Rams were paying close attention to a certain press conference on Tuesday, January 25, they would have learned about some potential bulletin board material ahead of their NFC Championship game showdown.
But this was not anything head coach Kyle Shanahan or any player on the San Francisco 49ers said that could pass as something that could rile up the “Rams House.” However, there was one statement that, by now, would have had to surface inside the Rams’ building.
This particular statement came from someone who is bitter about the Rams. Plus clearly has animosity over what occurred in Week 18 that involved his and his team’s playoff hopes and, in all likelihood, still recalls the events of January 20, 2019.
But he’s not a rival head coach from the NFC West. He’s newly retired New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.
What Payton Said
Via Rod Walker of The Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, Payton says he’s rooting against the Rams all because of the regular season finale.
Not that #Saints fans need any advice on who to root for this weekend. But Sean Payton did offer some advice yesterday.
“…Our record was 9-8, and we didn’t get in the playoffs. We’re rooting against the Rams right now because of that.”
Andrew Siciliano of the NFL Network seems to think Payton inserted his own sarcasm.
Sean Payton says 👀“Our record was 9-8. We didn’t get in the playoffs. We’re rooting against the Rams because of that.” 👀
It might have been sarcasm.
For anyone who may have forgotten, the 49ers on that day had to control their own destiny. A victory and they sealed the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. However, a Rams win and a Saints victory over the Falcons would’ve placed Payton and the Saints in the postseason.
But now, despite Payton winning his final NFL game on Week 18, January 9 now officially marks as his final game as an NFL head coach with the Saints.
Sean Payton says he and Saints staff are rooting against the Rams because, by losing to 49ers in regular-season finale OT, that eliminated Saints and effectively ended Payton’s tenure as New Orleans’ coach.
Who knows — Payton may also still be bitter about the 2019 NFC title game that was won by the Rams at the Superdome, which included this non-penalty that got Payton to go ballistic on the sidelines.
Sean Payton: “We didn’t make it to the playoffs and we’re rooting against the Rams because of that.”
Saints would’ve been in the playoffs if the Rams beat the 49ers in Week 18. (Non-PI call probably also on his mind).
Payton All-Time Versus the Rams
The 58-year-old Payton went 152-89 overall from 2006 to 2021 per Pro Football Reference.
But how did he fare against the Rams?
According to Football Database, Payton went 4-6 overall against them — and that includes that overtime NFC title game loss.
He only had one winning streak against the Rams: In 2009 and 2010 when his Saint teams beat them by scores of 28-23 and 31-13, respectively.
He did, however, struggle against head coach Sean McVay. Since McVay took the head coaching reins for the Rams, he owned a 3-1 overall record against Payton and the Saints. The one loss was in 2018 when Payton and the Saints won a shootout 45-35. But then, McVay and the Rams got their retaliation with the NFC title on the line.
That’s not all. The Rams own the last meeting against Payton’s Saints: A 27-9 thumping on September 15, 2019.
Payton High on This Conference Title Game Representative
Payton will soon see which team from his former conference will advance on to the Super Bowl.
There is one team he’s high on and compared them to last year’s champ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But it’s obviously not the Rams.
Instead, if Payton may have set off anymore “Rams House” representatives or the Rams themselves, he boldly anointed the Rams’ Sunday opponent as this year’s Tampa Bay.
Sean Payton at this retirement press conference: “(The 49ers) are the team that Tampa was a year ago.”
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Did an Ex-Super Bowl Winning Head Coach Just Give the Rams Motivation?