Sean McVay sends heartfelt message to Rams fans and players: “This is sports and you got to be able to deal with it”

The Los Angeles Rams’ season is over after being edged out by the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game. Sean McVay’s team put up an excellent fight against the No. 1 seed and had a chance to win it on fourth down in the fourth quarter, only to be thwarted by the Seattle defense on the biggest play of the night.

The Rams entered the game as underdogs, especially as the road team, but came within four points of matching a Seahawks side that many experts have labeled Super Bowl favorites for weeks.

McVay proud despite narrow defeat

After the game, McVay lamented the Rams’ defeat, which he put down to “a couple of critical areas that ended up costing us.” Still, he was full of praise for his players, who came within a few points of a first Super Bowl appearance in five years.

“I love this team, one of my all-time favorites,” McVay said. “I’ll be honest, nothing but gratitude for these guys. Nothing but respect for the Seahawks.”

“I’m pretty numb right now”

The Rams coach also admitted he would struggle to come to terms with having nothing left to work toward. His focus had been firmly on reaching the postseason and, more recently, the Super Bowl over the past few months.

“I’m pretty numb,” McVay confessed. “I think it’s the finality of it, when you don’t allow yourself to think about anything other than advancing. I felt like we were going to be the team on that podium, but we weren’t. Give Seattle the credit.

“I’m never really short on words and I am right now,” he added. “It’s tough, but this is sports and you’ve got to be able to deal with it.”

Will Matthew Stafford play for the Rams in 2026?

McVay also told reporters that veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, the current MVP favorite despite the Rams’ loss, would be back for another season “if he wants to play.”

“You’ll have to ask him,” McVay said. “I know that if he wants to, he’s still playing at a pretty damn good clip. I mean, he’s the MVP of the league and if he’s not, I’ve got respect for everybody else, but this guy played at a level that’s just different.”

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