McVay details how Patriots stifled Rams' offense
The New England Patriots shut down the Los Angeles Rams' high-flying offense, which seemed impossible.
The Rams owned the NFL's second-best offense (421 yards per game) and the second-highest scoring offense (32.9 points per contest). That proficient attack was held to just three points in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said postgame that Bill Belichick, Brian Flores, and Co. outcoached him. Then he took it a step further, highlighting the Patriots' disguised coverages and defensive-line schemes while explaining exactly how his unit was held to a mere field goal.
"They did a good job with that, with stunts and different things. They mixed it up," McVay said, according to John Breech of CBS Sports. "They played almost exclusively some man coverage principles and decided to take away - really in the early downs, all they ended up was playing some single-high buzz structures with some quarter principles.
"They did a great job, it was a great game plan. There is no other way to say it, but I got outcoached tonight."
Exacerbating his problems, McVay said he had trouble making the appropriate adjustments.
"I was not pleased at all with my feel for the flow of the game and kind of making some adjustments as the game unfolded and giving ourselves a chance to have some success and put points on the board," he added. "Credit to (the Patriots), they did a good job and I certainly didn't do good enough for us."
The Patriots also had a plan for the Rams' running game. Running back C.J. Anderson said New England controlled the gaps along the offensive line and left tackle Andrew Whitworth agreed.
"They did a really good job of playing us with six on the line all day and limited space to be able to get the runs through there," Whitworth said.
"I think they ran some games and then had some different looks where maybe guys who had been kind of rushers all year, where different guys were rushing," he added.
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