Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay won a lot of plaudits for boldly going for it on 4th and 1 from their own 42 yard line with 1:39 left in the game, converting successfully and clinching a win. However, if you ask him, his players deserve all the credit.
McVay originally had his punt team on the field, but during a Seattle Seahawks timeout, McVay admitted his players successfully lobbied him into making the call.
“Initially we talked about punting it,” McVay said Sunday, via Myles Simmons of the team’s official website. “You look at the belief that they had and how much they wanted to do and because of their belief, it made me feel confident — it made us as a coaching staff feel confident to make that decision.”
The Rams did not let McVay down, as quarterback Jared Goff kept the ball and got the necessary yardage for the first down.
The call was far from a no-brainer. Had the Rams failed, Seattle would have gotten the ball less than ten yards from field goal range, which could have set them up for a game-winning field goal try down 33-31.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll likely deserves a shoutout too. Without him calling timeout, the Rams would have had no chance to reconsider, and the punt team would have simply done their job and put the onus on the Los Angeles defense with a minute to go.
