If their loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game didn’t hurt the Los Angeles Rams enough, watching Super Bowl LX certainly didn’t make things any better. At the time, it felt like a massive opportunity that slipped through their fingertips. Now, it’s as if a championship ring slipped off their fingers.
The Rams were 6 yards from a go-ahead touchdown against the Seahawks and potentially a trip to the Super Bowl, where they would’ve faced the New England Patriots. The same New England Patriots who were dismantled by the Seahawks in Sunday’s 29-13 win by Seattle.
It’s not to say the Rams were guaranteed to beat the Patriots had they taken down the Seahawks, but there’s a very good chance they would’ve been crowned world champions.
Peter Schrager of ESPN put things into perspective for the Rams, saying on First Take that the Rams “have to wake up absolutely sick” over coming up short of the Super Bowl this season.
“I think the LA Rams wake up this morning absolutely sick,” he said. “… They put up 457 yards on that Seahawks defense in Week 16 and didn’t win? They put up 581 yards on that Seahawks defense in the NFC championship and didn’t win? If you’re Matthew Stafford, if you’re Sean McVay, you wake up this morning absolutely ill, having watched that team do what they did to the New England Patriots and say, ‘How did we not play in that game?’ I think the Rams are the team with the greatest regret right now.”
McVay said the Rams’ loss to the Seahawks two weeks ago hurt more than any other game he’s been a part of. Yes, more than LA’s Super Bowl LIII loss to the Patriots. He had full belief that they were a championship team, which made their NFC championship loss sting even more.
There were so many missed opportunities in that game, whether it was Xavier Smith’s muffed punt, the late-game red zone sequence that ended with a turnover on downs or the defense’s inability to get a much-needed stop.
“That is a team that should’ve been in the Super Bowl, in their heads,” he added. “With Stafford, in what might’ve been his MVP season and potentially his last year playing like that. How do you give up that opportunity when you did all the offensive stuff? If you just had special teams and defense, you’d be in the big game.”
Getting to the NFC title game was great, but it was short of the Rams’ ultimate goal of winning a ring. Instead, they were forced to watch their rivals hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Peter Schrager: Rams must be ‘absolutely sick’ after watching Super Bowl
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
