“I looked right at Sean, he looked at me … and was like here we go,” Stafford said. “That’s what it’s all about. What an unbelievable job by our defense today getting us the ball over and over again. Whether it be fourth-down stops or turnovers, they were clutch and timely. That’s what it takes to win in the playoffs.
“Sometimes offense is gonna go out and have a great day and find a way to win it, and sometimes defense is going to have a day like they did today and keep us in it for as long as they did and then make the play to get us the ball back. It’s a team effort. We’ve got a resilient group. Love being part of it. Obviously, things we can do better, but we found a way to win the football game and in January and February that’s what matters.”
Stafford was only able to deliver such satisfied comments after he managed to channel his inner All-Pro, firing an absurdly accurate pass across his forward-pointing shoulders to Davante Adams for a sideline completion to push the Rams into Bears territory. Three plays later, Stafford properly anticipated yet another Bears blitz and ripped a bullet to Puka Nacua for a third-down conversion inside Chicago’s 30. After moving three yards closer, the Rams’ Super Bowl hopes rested on the shoulders of Mevis and their beleaguered special teams unit.
Despite previous struggles in the third phase of the game, Stafford had nothing but faith in Mevis.
“Shoot, I was confident. Every time we’ve asked him, he’s stepped up and made kicks,” Stafford said. “He does in practice all the time. He’s consistent. He’s a gamer. I just knew is blood pressure would be low, he’d be ready to rock and roll. Great operation. Great snap, good hold. Those are not easy conditions to do any of that kind of stuff in. Obviously a great kick there to win it for us.”
In the playoffs, often the goal is simple: survive and advance. The Rams embodied that mantra Sunday night, overcoming both personal struggles and emotional blows that would have felled weaker squads.
For Stafford and McVay — battle-tested professional partners who share the same goal — such adversity wouldn’t extinguish their dream. Not that easily.
“There’s no style points,” McVay said. “It’s about being able to survive in advance, and we were able to do that in a tough, hostile environment, and it was cold as s— today.”
Fortunately, the Rams had enough ice in their veins to get the job done.
