The first game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions turned out to be a thriller. The Lions ultimately clinched the victory with a 26-20 score at Ford Field on Sunday, September 8. And coach Sean McVay, like a true sportsman, accepted the team’s shortcomings during the game and acknowledged the Lions’ prowess on the gridiron.

After the game, McVay joined the presser to talk about the loss, the thrill of the opening season for them, as well as where they lacked. During this interview, Sean McVay emphasized, “We came in here with an aggressive mindset of mentality.” And so, despite the loss, the coach is proud of his team and happy for Dan Campbell, as he said, “I am proud of this group. Like I had mentioned, it’s tough when you come out here and go toe-to-toe. It’s an excellent football team. I got a ton of respect for Coach Campbell and the way that they do their deal and they ultimately close it out and hats off to them for doing that.”

Besides this, McVay made sure to recollect the shortcomings of his team this time, aiming to move forward by learning from this mistake again. The 38-year-old admitted, “Uh, didn’t feel like you could settle for field goals. That’s why we came up short the last time and then ultimately a couple of those situations is inevitably what ended up leading to loss.” He explained that the team came with an aggressive approach, aiming for a win instead of playing it safe. For this, they were determined not to repeat the mistake where they settled for field goals in the past and that mistake had cost them.

Last time, the Lions won because they scored a field goal which proved to be the difference. Now this time, “the Lions were able to tie it with a late field goal in regulation and took the overtime possession to the house.” Hence this field goal extended to OT, resulting in Dan Campbell & Jared Goff’s win in the game.

In addition to that, McVay also mentioned other pointers that led to their loss. He expressed that unfortunately, penalties and turnovers became costly mistakes. Despite the loss, he viewed these moments as learning opportunities and emphasized he had no regrets about their aggressive game plan. But McVay knew that the team’s mistakes had cost this game, even though they had the chance to win against the Lions on Sunday.

Where did Sean McVay’s team, the Rams, lose?

There was a time when the Rams found themselves down 17-3 in the first half, but they weren’t ready to give up just yet! Against a Lions team that made it to the NFC Championship last season, they fought their way back. Kyren Williams added a touchdown, but it was Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp who brought the real spark.

In the game, Stafford threw for 317 yards, while Kupp had 14 catches, scoring a crucial touchdown to put the Rams back in the game. However, the twist began from here! Just when the Rams thought they had it, the Lions struck back. QB Jared Goff led an impressive overtime drive, and David Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown run sealed the win for Detroit.

The Lions pulled off a 26-20 victory, and it reminds Sean McVay that “….they’re learning opportunities for us….you have to adjust and adapt. I thought we did a fairly decent job of that but we came up short and this is an opportunity for us to be able to move forward.”

What do you think of the Rams’ performance? Share your two cents in the comments!