McVay said Williams’ “energy was outstanding” and he had a lot of success with key cuts and breakthroughs through the second and third levels, adding that the offensive line and tight ends helped him get into the teeth of the defense . He said it was “weird” having only three plays in the first quarter and they had to adjust as the game went on, but establishing the run helped everything else fall into place.

The team’s improvement was noticeable to McVay and he was happy with it, but acknowledged that there are always things that need to be cleaned up. McVay said Jared Verse’s fourth-down stop was “huge,” as was Bobby Brown’s tackle that set up the fourth-and-three in the red zone. He said they “played hard” and “followed the football.”

McVay said that “as the week progressed, a lot of things came to life that showed up in practice and translated into the game.”

When the running game is on, the rest of the Rams’ offense begins. And after a few missed opportunities in the first half, this outstanding success opened up the offensive in the second half. Stafford said, “The guys up front played really well in the run game all day,” and that led to the Rams’ season-high 156 rushing yards.

Stafford said three plays in the first quarter made it “difficult to find a rhythm.” He added that there were some “positive things to see” at half-time and that they built on their successes from there. Early in the game he got “a little curled up” from behind, but Stafford didn’t miss a snap. He said he felt good and said (laughing), “I have to be faster” to avoid plays like that.

Stafford said there were “some really strong plays by our defense” that helped the Rams close the game down the stretch, including the final two plays by Brown and Verse.