DETROIT – The Rams battled through multiple injuries to the offensive line, both before and during the game, to give the Detroit Lions a hard-fought overtime game on Sunday Night Football. Ultimately, the Rams fell to the Lions in Detroit for the second time in a row, losing 26-20 in the season opener after last year's season ended at Ford Field.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford found wide receiver Cooper Kupp 14 times on 49 pass attempts as the pair returned to prime form. The two, along with head coach Sean McVay, discussed their performance in the season opener, how they persevered through injuries and some of the missed opportunities that could have changed the game. The full press conferences can be viewed below.
Here were some of the most significant quotes from Stafford, Kupp and McVay after the loss:
"I was really proud of the way those guys (the offensive line) played, to be honest with you. There were some unfortunate things that happened, you know, up front, with guys getting injured and not being able to come back in the game, and those guys battled through." - Stafford
The Rams were already missing their starting tackles Alaric Jackson (suspension) and Rob Havenstein (ankle). So when Joe Noteboom went down in the first half, A.J. Arcuri had to step in against one of the league's premiere pass rushers, Aidan Hutchinson. On top of that, offensive lineman Steve Avila was ruled out in the first half, which forced Jonah Jackson to move from center to guard, as rookie Beaux Limmer stepped in to snap the ball.
Limmer was as good as Stafford could have hoped for, allowing just two pressures on 26 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Warren McClendon Jr. filled in for Havenstein at right tackle and performed well against a fierce Lions pass rush. Ultimately, Stafford acknowledged that the Rams were already wearing thin on the line prior to those in-game injuries, and he was impressed with how the men up front battled, considering they threw the ball 49 times.
"That's obviously frustrating (to not touch the ball in overtime) but… we had those opportunities to close that game out in that four-minute (span). We went up, defense got us a stop, and we need to find a way to ideally close the game out there." - Kupp
The Rams had the ball up 20-17 with 4:10 remaining in the game, but their final offensive possession ended in a punt, and the offense never saw it again. Stafford made a fantastic third-down conversion under heavy pressure to get the first down, but on the second set of downs, he missed Kupp on a deep route to the sideline that could have potentially iced the game.
Kupp said that he was trying to undercut the attempted jumped pass, but Stafford tried to throw high to combat that move. Kupp said they "were both making the right decision, it just wasn't the same decision." After that, the Lions tied the game and the Rams only had two offensive plays before overtime, where the Lions won on the first possession.
"We came in here with an aggressive mindset and mentality, 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 us probably not finishing it out tonight." - McVay
The Rams were aggressive in their playcalling, throwing the ball on 74% of their plays and going for it multiple times on fourth down in enemy territory. Los Angeles did turn the ball over on downs in the second quarter, but they got the first down on their second 4th down attempt, which led to their first touchdown of the season. Stafford hit wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on a crosser past the marker to convert.
The Rams came back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to take a late lead. They had to settle for a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the eight-yard line after a penalty called back what would have been a one-yard touchdown for Jordan Whittington. Stafford also threw a costly interception in the red zone early on, where the Rams didn't turn the ball over once last season.
"All those are growth opportunities," McVay said. "But we came here to be aggressive and I wouldn't take that decision back."
