Ahead of the Week 1 showdown against the division rival San Francisco 49ers in Australia, the Los Angeles Rams made the questionable decision to wait until the last minute to travel down under rather than get acclimated in advance, as the other team did.
That move proved costly, as the Rams were a shell of themselves against Brock Purdy‘s squad, who were more than ready for their division rivals. Head coach Sean McVay and company would probably make a different decision if they could do it again, with Los Angeles losing to San Francisco, 27-7.
Sean McVay Hilariously Takes Blame for Week 1 Travel Plans
After getting a much-needed bounce-back win against the visiting New York Giants on Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium, McVay couldn’t help but throw himself under the bus in the most comical way possible for deciding to travel late to Australia to start the season, via Arash Markazi of The Sports Tribune.
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” McVay said. “Sometimes you have a dumbass coach that makes travel plans that put you in a bad spot. There you go!”
Fortunately for McVay, he was able to get his team back on track at home, blowing out the Giants in Los Angeles, 28-6, dominating on both sides of the football while also seeing superstar Aaron Donald back in action for the first time in two years.
The Rams looked as advertised on Monday night in front of their fans, delivering a dominant, start-to-finish performance that lived up to the offseason hype surrounding McVay’s squad.
Los Angeles’ brutal schedule to start the season gets back underway in Week 3, with the team traveling to the Mile High City to take on Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday night.
Matthew Stafford Makes NFL History in Win Over Giants
The primary reason for the Rams’ dominance on Monday Night Football against the visiting Giants was reigning NFL MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford getting back to form.
Stafford was locked in against the Giants, passing for over 300 yards for the 69th time in his NFL career, which passes Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger for seventh on the all-time list.
The veteran gunslinger also threw for four touchdowns, connecting with Davante Adams twice in the process, who passed Rams legendary wide receiver Issac Bruce for 15th on the all-time receptions list. Stafford now sits above Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the sixth-most games with four or more touchdown passes, with 22.
Perhaps the most impressive milestone for Stafford on Monday was passing Philip Rivers on the all-time touchdown passes list.
The Rams superstar quarterback now has 426 touchdown passes for his career, moving him up to No. 6 on the list behind Brett Favre (508). Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only active player left ahead of Stafford, but he’ll have a long way to go to reach the four-time NFL MVP at 528 and counting.
Sean McVay Roasts Himself Over Rams’ Disastrous Trip to Australia