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Sean McVay and the Rams may never shake the disappointment and regret of falling short against the Seahawks in two critical matchups last season. At least not any time soon.
Seattle’s combined five-point margin of victory in those games, as minuscule as it was, denied the Rams a chance to play in their third Super Bowl in eight seasons.
Instead, they frustratingly watched their bitter NFC rivals hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
There isn’t a pill more bitter to swallow than watching a team you know you’re better than win a championship you truly believe should have been yours.
But at the end of the day, the Seahawks, not the Rams, got it done when it counted. So, to quote the younger crowd: cope better.
In the Rams’ case, that means harnessing that lingering sense of loss and regret in a way that is empowering rather than draining.
To that end, they took a brutally honest look at themselves by sizing up their deficiencies, then used the opening days of free agency to turn their only real weakness into a strength.
In the process, they are among the big early winners of the offseason. And turned themselves into one of the favorites to win Super Bowl LXI next February at SoFi Stadium.
First, they traded for Chiefs Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie, using one of their two first-round picks in next month’s draft to bring the Southern California native home.
The Rams made it a long-term commitment by locking McDuffie up with a record-breaking four-year, $124 million contract that makes him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
At that point, no one would have blamed them for calling it a day at cornerback.
But the angry fuel the Rams are operating on, and their steely-eyed determination to chase down the Seahawks, wouldn’t allow that. They went right back to Kansas City on the first day of free agency to reel in McDuffie’s running mate, Jaylen Watson, to shore up their other perimeter cornerback spot.
Overnight, they turned their defensive secondary deficiencies into a certified strength.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better cornerback tandem than McDuffie and Watson, who won’t need any time even to develop chemistry. After partnering in Kansas City for the past four years, they just moved their firm to Los Angeles.
The price was steep — first-, fifth-, and sixth-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year, plus $175 million in combined salary — but the Rams won’t let cost deter them from pursuing their objectives.
Aside from their special-teams issues, which played mightily in their two losses to the Seahawks, their cornerbacks were their biggest liability. Now, they will marry McDuffie and Watson together with a young, talented pass rush that includes Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
All three levels of their defense will benefit.
On paper, that group is far more complete than the one that finished the season in the NFC Championship game loss to the Seahawks. And considerably more versatile, with McDuffie’s and Watson’s play-making skill a perfect fit for coordinator Chris Shula’s multi-faceted defense.
McDuffie’s ability to play the run and rush the passer allows Shula to dig deeper into his play-call bag. That will pay dividends during the season and playoffs when the Rams need to come up with a big third-down stop, and Shula can attack the offense from different spots on the field.
Just those moves alone would have closed the gap on their Pacific Northwest rivals. But the Seahawks are suffering greatly from the tax sometimes associated with winning a Super Bowl. The one that results in the inevitable attrition the champion experiences when other teams poach good players and important coaches.
While the Rams are adding talent and strengthening themselves, the opposite is happening to the Seahawks.
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, whose influence on Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba can’t be understated, is off to Las Vegas as the new head coach of the Raiders.
Kubiak is bringing trusted assistants Rick Dennison and Andrew Janocko with him to Las Vegas, further depleting the Seahawks’ offensive coaching staff.
Seattle also lost Super Bowl-MVP running back Kenneth Walker III, cornerback Coby Bryant and edge rusher Boye Mafe in free agency.
Those are not insignificant losses, and they leave the Seahawks searching for suitable replacements.
It’s a burden the Seahawks will warily shoulder, humbly accepting the reality that winning the Super Bowl never comes free. Whether it’s in pursuit or defense, the piper eventually gets his cut.
Bottom line, the Seahawks have taken a step back since last season, and the Rams have taken a big step forward.
You could even make the argument that the Rams have now surged ahead.
That fuel they are operating on is angry, indeed.
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