Sean McVay on what happened against the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII: 'You’ve got to tip your hat'

Thursday at the scouting combine, Rams coach Sean McVay had a chance to talk more about what happened to his team in the loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII.

First, McVay acknowledged New England did some of the same things as the Chicago defense did to Los Angeles in a December win for the Bears at Soldier Field.


“Really, I think what they did such a nice job of is they played a loaded front structure, which is something that we expected,” McVay said of the New England defense. “And they went with really, (in) the early downs, more of a top-down principle where they were playing some quarters structures -- kind of similar to what Chicago had a little bit of success with.

“But Chicago mixed that up and did some other things. (The Patriots) kind of exclusively stayed in that in those early down and distances. And unfortunately, we didn’t really ever make them pay. And that’s where it’s a great opportunity for you, No. 1 as a coach, to look inwardly and say, ‘How can we use these as learning opportunities to make sure that if these things do come up in the future, we’re putting our players in a position where they’re better ready to execute on the fly and adjust?’ ”

Another thing that befuddled McVay and the Rams? The fact the New England defense looked so different when stacked against its first two playoff games.

“They were mostly playing more man principles against teams like the Chargers and Kansas City in the playoffs, and they played a little bit different front structure,” McVay said. “Basically, against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship, it wasn’t until, like, the 22nd or 23rd snap that you even saw a snap of zone. They were mostly doubling Tyreek Hill north and south where they had somebody over the top always, and then they’d put in their good matchups with who they felt like based on, whether it was (Travis) Kelce or Sammy Watkins — (Stephon) Gilmore traveled with him.

“So they did an excellent job, and that’s what makes them great coaches. You’ve got to tip your hat off to those guys.”

Ultimately, McVay hopes the game serves as a teachable moment for his team going forward.

“Absolutely. I think really every single week provides a learning opportunity, whether it be good or bad,” he said. “The Super Bowl was a great experience. I think any time you’re navigating through a two-week preparation, there’s always some different elements that, when you look back, you say, ‘All right, this worked out. This didn’t.’ And a lot of that entails the feedback that you get from the coaches and the players if you are fortunate enough to get in that situation again. So I certainly learned a lot.”