The Los Angeles Rams surprised many people when they went for a touchdown near the end of their Week 13 game against the Cleveland Browns rather than kicking a field goal, but Sean McVay provided an excellent explanation for the decision.
The Rams were leading 27-19 and had the ball at the goal line with under two minutes remaining. Cleveland had no timeouts, so L.A. could have taken a knee on second and third down before kicking a field goal to go up two scores with barely any time remaining. Instead, McVay called a running play on 2nd-and-goal from the 1. Kyren Williams scored to put the Rams up 34-16.
McVay was asked about the decision after the game. He said he chose to go for the touchdown rather than risking a blocked field goal. The coach also joked that he has Williams on his fantasy team.
#Rams coach Sean McVay on why he went for a touchdown with two minutes left, instead of kneeling the ball and then kicking a field goal to go up 11:
“Kyren’s on my fantasy team” pic.twitter.com/mCUV7Qpwrr
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) December 4, 2023
“It was some debate,” McVay explained. “But I think out of respect for their field goal block operation we said, ‘Lets make sure we have great ball security, but Kyren’s on my fantasy team.’ It’s a joke. It’s a joke. I don’t really mean that. I’m kidding.”
The Browns have been solid on special teams this season. Myles Garrett blocked a field goal earlier in the year with an insanely athletic play (video here), so McVay did not want to toy with something like that happening. He obviously felt that the Rams would be in a better position if they went up two touchdowns, even with a decent amount of time left on the clock.
While McVay was only kidding about having Williams on his fantasy team, his decision undoubtedly made a lot of fantasy players and gamblers happy.
