Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Head coach Sean McVay experienced paralysis by analysis in the days before the Los Angeles Rams lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3.
McVay took responsibility for the 13-3 loss in the immediate aftermath of the game and expounded upon his faults in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

“In the back of my mind, [when making the Super Bowl game plan back in L.A.], I operated knowing I had another week,” he said. “That urgency to completely finalize the game plan wasn’t quite there, and that led to me watching so much film that you can almost water down your thought process.”
“You have so much time that you can overprepare and get away from some of the things that helped you get there. I watched every game from New England’s season. You see stuff that worked in, say, Week 3, but you forget about the amount of stuff that’s taken place since Week 3. You can watch so much film that you lose perspective. You have 18 games of film you can pore over. And then I even watched the Philly and Atlanta Super Bowls closely.”
McVay said after the Super Bowl that he was outcoached, tipping his hat to Bill Belichick and the Patriots for a better plan and superior execution.
Los Angeles under McVay was No. 2 in scoring in the NFL in 2018.
McVay also told SI that he didn’t take enough time to absorb what it took to become NFC champions.
“I didn’t appreciate it,” McVay said. “I think there’s a lot to be said for the journey, and I appreciated what the season had entailed. But I could have appreciated the week and entirety of the event more. I kept myself kind of isolated because I didn’t want any distraction.”
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)