Jared Verse Admits Rams ‘Mentally Shut Down’ in NFC Title Loss

Jared Verse indicated that the Rams defense's inexperience in big games came back to bite them in the NFC Championship fixture against the Seahawks.

Jared Verse Admits Rams ‘Mentally Shut Down’ in NFC Title Loss

#8 Jared Verse and #0 Byron Young (Image via IMAGO)

The Los Angeles Rams’ young players injected energy into the locker room, driving the team toward the NFC Championship game. But being youthful also means that they did not have the experience to deal with intense pressure. That same inexperience made the Seattle challenge feel like a towering mountain, one that the Rams’ defenders just couldn’t handle. Jared Verse learned that firsthand.

LA went 1-1 against Seattle in the regular season, with both games going down to the wire. The Rams learned from the two fixtures and applied that in the conference title game. However, the Seahawks’ offense adapted better.

Even with players like Byron Young, Braden Fiske, and Poona Ford playing alongside him, Verse and the Rams’ defensive line fell flat.

When that happened, everybody kind of started freaking out… Our mindset was like, ‘Oh, we lost to them once, we beat them once, this is for all the marbles.’ And when we started having trouble, we didn’t know what to do.

Jared Verse said while appearing on The Pivot podcast

Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold went off. He completed 25 of 36 passes (69.6%) for 346 yards and tossed 3 touchdown passes.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught 10 passes for 153 yards and scored one touchdown, while Jake Bobo and veteran WR Cooper Kupp added one each. Running back Kenneth Walker averaged 3.3 yards per carry on 19 attempts, totaling 62 yards, and scored once on the ground.

Verse didn’t point fingers at anyone else, but he took the blame on himself for being complacent.

There was a couple of times where I’m like, ‘Bro, they are running the other way. I don’t know what to do. I can’t chase him. Like, I’m not that fast. I can’t chase him on the backside. What do I do?… We just kind of mentally shut down.

Jared Verse quipped

The Rams’ secondary and special teams had a horrible day. Xavier Smith muffed a punt early and, in the third quarter, helped the Seahawks acquire advantageous field positions.

Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua kept the Rams in the game. Stafford completed 22 passes for 374 yards and threw 3 touchdowns. Nacua caught 9 passes for 165 yards (18.3 yards per catch) and scored 1 touchdown. The Rams lost 27-31 and blew the chance to play in the Super Bowl after a four-year gap.

Jared Verse hates the Seahawks

The defeat must have been upsetting because Verse not only lost to a division rival, but to a team that he hates.

Jared Verse Admits Rams ‘Mentally Shut Down’ in NFC Title Loss
Jared Verse (Image via IMAGO)

And it’s not just the second-year linebacker; his teammates don’t like the Seattle franchise either.

I genuinely don’t like them [the Seahawks]… l got a disdain in my heart for them. Like, I hate them. I don’t like the Seahawks at all. There’s nothing I like about them. I don’t like their players. There’s nobody I like about their staff. I don’t like them.

Verse said

Well, the 25-year-old has to live with the fact that the Seahawks are the reigning Super Bowl champions. Seattle defeated the New England Patriots 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium in Super Bowl LX. When Verse lines up against the Seahawks, he and the other Rams players must play with a chip on their shoulder to exact sweet revenge.

Also Read: