After Saturday's victory over the Cowboys, the Rams are officially one-win away from reaching Super Bowl LIII.
It's a fact — the Rams will play to appear in a World Championship game. And it's part of why running back Todd Gurley was so appreciative of winning his first playoff game last week.
Following Saturday's 30-22 victory over Dallas, a reporter asked the 24-year-old Gurley if seeing 37-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth win his first playoff game after 13 years in the league made him appreciate the January victory that much more.
Gurley said he's always appreciated Whitworth, but then went on to explain why most NFL players likely have to change their mindset once they reach the pros.
"Most guys in my position — I've been winning my whole life. So, when you're in the NFL, you're not going to win every game," Gurley said after Saturday's game. "The chances of that are slim to none, so you just got to be able learn how to take those wins and those losses and just be able to get better each week and just bounce back from that."
Instead, Gurley says, he had to learn to take things one day at a time. And that's not the easiest thing to do, as Gurley says his approach was different in the past and it didn't end up well.
"So, just going back to not trying to really think about the playoff win and just put this behind us," Gurley said. "Obviously, we got to watch film and see what we got to get better at but just take it day-by-day and just keep trying to get better."
Gurley really seems to go by that day-by-day mentality — at least based on what he said about using his past playoff experience to improve his mindset going into this year's postseason.
"I don't even, honestly, remember last year. I just know this is a new year," Gurley said. "Just looking at [Aqib] Talib today — him and [Marcus] Peters. It's just like — this is it. This is the reason we traded for you. This is the reason we traded for Peters. This is the reason we signed Sam Shields, we signed [Ndamukong] Suh, to be in this position like this."
So now it's about the Rams capitalizing on that opportunity. And even as Gurley takes things one day at a time, he admitted he can't help but think about the fact that the Rams are just a win away from playing in the biggest sporting event of the year.
"Like, to be able to even play for a Super Bowl is crazy, man. It is crazy. I can't even really explain it right now," Gurley said. "It's just like when my boys say when I talk to them. I go to the Super Bowl and I just talk to those guys. Talked to [Eagles WR] Nelson [Agholor] last year, [former Patriots WR] Malcolm Mitchell and it's just like, 'Man, how does it feel?'
"It's a good feeling and we're just getting a glimpse of that feeling. Definitely something you've got to think about because it's so close. But, we know what we've got to do as a team and as players and coaches to get that win to be able to go there."
