“We Are L.A. Strong!”

(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The eagerly awaited NFL Divisional Final games began on Saturday of this weekend. The Rams will face the Chicago Bears in their Sunday matchup, likely played in extremely frigid weather (20°F), with snowfall expected to impact the natural grass surface at Soldier Field. Fortunately, the weather will affect both teams equally, so neither will have any distinct advantage. A win against the Bears would advance the Rams to the NFC Championship title matchup next week, where they would face the Seattle Seahawks for the third time this season. A victory next week would put the Royal Blue & Gold in a strong position to be the favorite in Super Bowl LX to be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, on February 8th.

Learn what Head Coach Sean McVay had to say about the impact of having “key” starting players return to action for this critical “must-win” game and a few more interesting topics. Although his Friday media session was not as lengthy as usual, Coach McVay always makes the most of the time he must spend with the full press corps in attendance. 

Rams Transcripts – Head Coach Sean McVay – 1/16/26, Friday

[Head Coach Sean McVay]

(Injury updates)…
“As far as injuries are concerned, everybody’s in good shape. [Defensive End] ‘Des’ [Desjuan Johnson] is feeling a little bit under the weather, but I’m hopeful that he’ll feel better. That stuff goes around this time of year. [Quarterback] Jimmy’s [Garoppolo] had a little bit of a sore back. We’re just being smart with him. He’ll be listed as questionable. There’s nothing that would lead me to believe that he won’t be ready to go for us.”

(On whether OL Kevin Dotson will play)
“Kevin’s going to be good.”

(On whether Dotson will start)
“Yep.”

(On what it means to have Dotson back)
“It means a lot. I think what’s great is like we’ve talked about, [Offensive Lineman] Justin Dedich has done an amazing job. I think there’s been a lot of guys that when they’ve been asked to be able to step up, they’ve delivered. I’ve been really proud of the depth of the group that we have. To be able to get a physical player [back], his energy, his swag and his presence is excellent for us. I do feel a lot of confidence in Justin, but the expectation and the anticipation is Kevin’s going to be ready to go and start. He had a good day yesterday and he’s got that good look in his eye. I know he’s missed being out there with the guys. He’s stayed engaged and it’s exciting to have him back.”

(On an update for OL Rob Havenstein)
“Rob is doing a great job of just being able to lead right now. I think that he has just worked through so many different things. You look at the totality of his body of work, that ankle is really bothering him and he’s working. He does a great job with [Senior Vice President, Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] and his group on a daily basis. He is just continuing to lead in the way that he can. I think what says so much about his competitive character and who he is is the way that he’s influencing and affecting positive change. He’s in the meeting room giving coaching points. He wants to be out there, but what he is doing a great job of that I think says so much about him is that, okay if I can’t be out there physically participating, how can I make those contributions and be able to lead the way? The more that I’m around Rob, the more I love him. We have a longstanding history, but I think when you watch how people handle not ideal circumstances and situations, you learn about them. This guy continues to come away as an incredibly special person. I look at it, having two sons now, when my sons eventually go through something like this, I hope they handle it the way Rob Havenstein has.”

(On whether there’s a chance that Havenstein won’t return in the playoffs)
“I wouldn’t rule that out. We’ve taken it a little bit at a time. I think that’s the best way to approach it without pigeonholing yourself into that approach. What’s served us well is just being present and taking it a day at a time. That’s what Rob’s done a great job of. I wouldn’t want to take that route. Hopefully we’ll have some more opportunities to be able to talk through that situation as we continue, if we’re able to do what we want to do on Sunday.”

(On how he can coach ‘finishing games’)
“I think you really just coach the consistent ability to execute through four quarters and the competitive stamina. I think you draw on previous experiences. You see that confidence earned through the work, through your preparation and then through being able to deliver in those types of moments, which our players did last week. Every single game is a new game. Every single play is its own entity. I think what we talk to our players about is let’s be totally and completely present. Every single play represents one of two things, an opportunity to maintain the momentum or to snatch it right back. I think it’s about being able to do the things that are in alignment with, what’s my role within the one 11th that I have to be able to do? How can I use my fundamentals, my techniques, and then be able to have the stamina and the strain through the echo of the whistle, and then be able to do it over and over again? I don’t necessarily focus on anything other than let’s do what we can control. We do emphasize the good moments and then we talk about being able to learn from the times that maybe we didn’t get it done.”

(On what his game day attire will look like with the cold weather)
“You have to ask [Senior Director of Equipment] Brendan Burger about that.”

(On whether he’s going to wear layers)
“I’m going shirtless [laughter]. No, you know what, I will say this, [Quarterback] Matthew [Stafford] since he got here, he introduced me to the wetsuit stuff. I’ll wear that. Maybe I’ll have a heated vest. I’ve had some guys that have had that. Here’s what I do know, I can’t think about too many things. I trust whatever Brendan Burger’s got ready for me. I’m going to actually get with him after we get done with practice today. He’ll show me everything that he’s got. Usually it’s a thumbs up. I don’t give a crap about me being warm or cold. That shit doesn’t matter at all. It’s about our players, but ‘Burg’ [Brendan Burger] takes good care of me.”

(On whether his gear will stop him from running down the sideline)
“I’m an athlete [laughter]. I’ll be in good shape, man. Don’t you worry about me. We’ll be good. Don’t worry. What do you think I’m going to dress up like the Michelin man or something [laughter]? No we’ll be good. All kidding aside, ‘Berg’ has always done a really good job of outfitting me and it hasn’t been an issue. Now that I’m not being too stubborn to throw a beanie on after my mom and my wife ripped me, we’ll be in good shape there too.”

(On whether he considered a different travel plan for this week)
“What we’ve learned is where we’re kicking off it really doesn’t affect us. Going back to even the COVID year where we were mandated to travel the day before, we’ve tried to keep as much normalcy as we possibly can. The London game had some different exceptions and things of that nature. As it relates to us traveling the way that we are, we try to be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s stay in our atmosphere and environment as long as we can.’ You get there the night before the game. I think you don’t minimize it. I think it’s as big a deal as you make it. Our guys have had a bunch of successful outcomes. It’ll be a 3:30 kickoff in our heads, two hours later than what we’re accustomed to. The good thing is at least there are other games on. The Monday night games are the ones that are the worst, where you’re just sitting around and there’s nothing to watch. You feel that, especially with the east coast Monday night games, I was ready for bed by the time we kicked off against the Falcons. We’ll be in good shape. A lot of it goes back to what we did in COVID and then learning about it from Reggie and our group and we’ve had some successful outcomes.”

(On how he’s seen WR Puka Nacua grow on a personal level since being drafted)
“Number one, like I’ve told you guys when we’ve talked about him, he has a great heart. When you’re around people and you just have that intuition of you want to work with people… he’s got this zest and this warmth. It’s like anything else. I think about when I was a younger guy and still you always try to be able to learn from your mistakes, take advantage of the platform you had and this guy, he’s accountable. I love the human being. I love our players. It’s your job to be able to help continue to help them grow. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t say that I didn’t have a bunch of learning ‘opps’ [opportunities] and growth to be had. When people’s hearts are right, you want to invest in them and you want to give them every opportunity to be able to succeed. That’s not exclusive to Puka, that’s all our players. I’ve really seen him continue to grow. I’ve seen accountability. I’ve seen him continue to understand the valuable platform that he’s earned to be able to influence and affect positive change. You look at the way that he interacts with fans and those types of things, this is a great guy. He’s great with you guys. That’s his authentic personality. Then like anything else, you continue to learn and if you see people that can have that ownership, that accountability and then be able to learn and continue to grow, those are the fun parts of being able to put your arm around people and help them whether it’s Puka or any of our players.”

(On the impact of having the entire tight end room healthy)
“It’s big. It’s been great to be able to have [Tight End] Tyler Higbee be back in the mix. I think [Tight End] Nick Vannett has done a nice job when he’s been asked to play a little bit more. Then getting [Tight End Terrance] Ferguson back is big. He had the weird hamstring injury a couple weeks ago, missed the last two games. He’s feeling good. He’s running well. We’re excited to be able to have those guys. It’s not exclusive to the tight end room. I think we’re relatively as healthy as you could hope to be. Getting [Wide Receiver] Jordan Whittington back in the receiver room is a big deal. We’re grateful for that because there have been some years where you look at it going into your 19th game, normally you don’t have the health that we do have. That’s a credit to our players, to Reggie and his group. I’m very grateful. That room has obviously been really valuable and beneficial for us.”

–RAMS–