Sean McVay Turns 40, but Don’t Expect Him to Celebrate It

Sean McVay just turned 40, but he has no time to celebrate as the Rams have big NFC title game against the Seahawks on Sunday.

Sean McVay Turns 40, but Don’t Expect Him to Celebrate It

Sean McVay (Image via IMAGO)

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In just eight years as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, Sean McVay has accomplished remarkable success. He’s made the playoffs all but two times, has more postseason victories than Mike Tomlin, and has a Super Bowl win under his belt. Remarkably, he just hit 40 on January 24, a day before the Rams’ big NFC showdown against the Seattle Seahawks.

Birthdays are always an occasion to celebrate for most. McVay is different. He prioritizes work over throwing a party. It makes sense when the team is one win away from playing in the Super Bowl.

Brainstorming about football is the best birthday gift for him. It keeps him busy.

Here’s what I will say. What is a good birthday is when I’m working on my birthday, and if I’m working next week. That’d be a hell of a birthday. That’s the only present I want.

Sean McVay told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (H/T: NBC Sports)

For that, the Rams must overcome the tricky Seattle challenge on Sunday at Lumen Field. They were 1-1 in the regular season. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw 5 total touchdowns and passed for over 550 yards.

That being said, the Rams struggled to get over the line against the Bears in Chicago last week in the divisional playoff game. Stafford completed fewer than 50% of his passes and did not throw any touchdowns in the four quarters. The Rams had to rely on kicker Harrison Mevis to bail the team out with the game-winning field goal in the final moments.

Sean McVay must bring out the MVP-level performance from Matthew Stafford against the Seahawks

McVay found himself beefing with the Bears’ head coach, Ben Johnson, leading up to the game. He wasn’t very happy with the way Johnson treated his former colleague, Matt LaFleur, after the Packers’ Wild Card Week loss.

Sean McVay Turns 40, but Don’t Expect Him to Celebrate It
Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay (Image via IMAGO)

Johnson nearly won the bout thanks to a jaw-dropping play by Heisman winner Caleb Williams. The Rams eventually secured all the points, but came extremely close to watching the Super Bowl from Cancun. McVay promptly accepted the blame.

Offensively, man, I did not do a very good job for our group.

McVay said after the game

The Seahawks are a different proposition than the Bears. Mike Macdonald’s Seahawks feature the league’s best scoring defense, along with Sam Darnold, who has enjoyed a career resurgence over the past two years.

Meanwhile, the Rams have the best scoring offense. Stafford is among the finalists for the 2025 MVP award after a season in which he racked up 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns.

You just continue to harp on the fundamentals, the basics of playing football at a high level.

McVay said

That being said, senior NFL researcher Dante Koplowitz-Fleming revealed a statistic that should concern the Rams as they step into Lumen Field.

Since 1975, the passing yards leader is 0-6 in the playoffs vs the No. 1 scoring defense.

According to Koplowitz-Fleming

The last time the league’s top offense faced the best defense was the unforgettable Super Bowl XLVIII clash between the Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. Denver quarterback Peyton Manning had thrown 55 touchdowns (most in a season) and 5,477 passing yards, averaging 342.3 yards per game. However, the same Denver team finished the Super Bowl in single digits. It ended in a 43-8 blowout victory for the Seahawks.

Seattle is the favorite to beat LA. But it’s presumptuous to think that McVay and Stafford won’t put up a good fight.

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