Rams come away with positives in season finale
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams didn’t get the fairytale ending to their season finale against the Seattle Seahawks as they hoped, but head coach Sean McVay came away with a lot of good things that he saw from his ballclub.
“I thought there were so many positive contributions today,” McVay said in his postgame comments following the Rams’ 30–25 defeat to the Seahawks at SoFi Stadium. “I think it really is a real credit to the depth that we’ve been able to establish on this roster. I liked what we were able to do defensively. We got enough stops.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 30–25 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Jan. 5, 2025. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline
“Obviously, you saw some of our guys that haven’t maybe played significant roles in some early downs… I thought (DE) Desjuan Johnson showed up. I thought we were able to get some of our sub rush packages going. That was an efficient group for us. got some good stops to allow us to get back in the game. Offensively, I was really pleased. I thought (QB) Jimmy (Garoppolo) did an excellent job,” he added.
Jimmy Garoppolo was signed in the offseason to back up Matthew Stafford. With the Rams having clinched the NFC West Division title with their win against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, Stafford and several offensive starters took the game off and rested.
This presented an opportunity for Garoppolo to show that he still has a thing or two left in the tank. Garoppolo completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns against Seattle and maneuvered the Rams into position with seconds left in the game to possibly sneak out a win against the Seahawks.
Unfortunately, Garoppolo’s final pass attempt during the matinee contest one-hopped its way into the hands of wide receiver Jordan Whittington on fourth down with a couple of yards separating the rookie playmaker from the endzone.
Although he would have preferred walking away with the win, Garoppolo said he enjoyed being out in the field of play.
“I wanted to come away with the win, but I had a blast with the guys, honestly,” Garoppolo said.” It’s a fun group of dudes and a good team. That locker room is a good one. I had a lot of fun out there today. We just came up a little short, but that’s the way it goes.”
Garoppolo’s success against Seattle’s defense should not come as a shock or surprise. After all, Garoppolo spent six seasons as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, a team that also plays in the NFC West.
“It definitely helped,” Garoppolo said about the familiarity of playing against the Seahawks. “They changed some things up on us a little bit. That’s a good defensive line. They gave us some problems. I thought the guys, like I said before, the O-line handled it well.”
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) looks to complete a pass against the Seattle Seahawks in an NFL game played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Jan. 5, 2025. Photo credit: Mark Hammond/News4usonline
Garoppolo was not the only player with a stalwart performance. Placekicker Joshua Karty (119 points) had a pretty special day himself, kicking four field goals to surpass Frank Corral (118 points) for the most points scored by a Rams kicker in their rookie season.
By kicking a 58-yard field goal in the second quarter and then knocking in a 57-yarder in third quarter, Karty became the second player in the history of the franchise to make two field goals of 55 yards or more in the same game.
After the game, McVay spoke on Karty’s consistent play all season.
“He was awesome,” McVay said. “You talk about just how pure he struck the football today. I thought the last field goal that we had to be able to go up 25–24 was an excellent hold by Ethan Evans and really good timing by Joshua .”
“But to hit two longer 50-yard field goals the way that he did, I think he’s peaking at the right time. He’s just been so steady. I’m really proud of Josh, but I’m not surprised just based on the things that go on behind the scenes and how he’s just been so steady throughout this journey that we’ve been on,” McVay went on to say.