Which Rams QB will play in wild-card game? Seahawks might not know until kickoff
Has Rams coach Sean McVay decided who his starting quarterback will be for Saturday’s wild-card meeting with the Seahawks?
“No,” he stated simply Tuesday afternoon on a Zoom call with reporters. “No, I have not.”
He doesn’t plan to have an answer to that question until the weekend rolls around, either. When exactly does he expect to have that final decision made?
About 1:39 p.m. — or one minute before kickoff — Saturday, he quipped.
What that means is the Seahawks and everyone else likely won’t know until then whether it will be regular starter Jared Goff or newcomer John Wolford lining up under center for the Rams at Lumen Field.
Goff has been their starting quarterback since midway through his rookie season in 2016 after the Rams selected him with the top pick in the draft.
He’s guided them to the postseason three times in his five seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2018.
But, he also underwent surgery to repair a broken and dislocated thumb on his throwing hand following Los Angeles’ loss to the Seahawks in Seattle two weeks ago — he finished 24-of-43 passing for 234 yards and an interception — and missed the regular season finale Sunday against the Cardinals.
Wolford, making his NFL debut, stepped in and helped the Rams clinch a playoff spot in his place.
Who to start in a short week in another win-or-go-home situation? There are arguments for both quarterbacks.
Goff has the familiarity and experience. Wolford is the hot hand after the win over Arizona — he was 22-of-38 for 231 yards and an interception, and also rushed for 56 yards on six attempts — and is healthy.
“The good thing is, you know you’ve got a guy that’s won a lot of games, taken us to a Super Bowl and done a lot of great things over his career in Jared,” McVay said. “And then with John having had his first experience in an NFL game, I did like a lot of the things that he did the other day, and so that gives you some flexibility with how you handle this week.
“Feel good about having those two guys, but how much Jared is able to do this week and how that (thumb) feels will definitely go into how we handle the rest of the week and what it looks like for Saturday.”
Right now, McVay said both Rams quarterbacks are preparing for a possible start Saturday in Seattle.
“We’re taking it a day at a time,” he said. “Jared is our starting quarterback, and the reality is that he had a thumb surgery. We’re monitoring that every single day. That’s something that we’re taking a day at a time.
“But, the anticipation is both those guys are getting themselves ready to go.”
Goff was listed as a limited participant in Tuesday’s practice. He has thrown some and was planning to take snaps at practice, McVay said.
He is “making steady progress every day,” McVay said, and how his thumb progresses at practice this week will be a determining factor for Saturday.
“There will be a lot of things that go into it,” McVay said. “But, I think you’ve got to really just be able to see, alright, from a functionality standpoint how is he feeling? What does it look like just being able to get out there (Wednesday) and the following day? I think really just evaluating the totality of the situation while not minimizing the fact that he did have a thumb surgery.
“I know he’s been attacking everything the right way, he’s done his part and we’ll just take it a day at a time. That’s kind of what’s going to go into it. I don’t want to really get too far ahead of myself. I think you just want to be able to see and evaluate when he’s getting out there in a practice setting, what does that look like? Get his feedback on how it feels because playing the position and then being able to play catch and long toss is a little bit different.”
If game day arrives and Goff can’t play, McVay seems confident in Wolford’s ability to handle a postseason start.
“I think for John, the good thing for him is in essence last week was a win-and-you’re-in type of deal, so it was a playoff-type game atmosphere,” McVay said. “Fortunately, if he does play, it’s not going to be the normal Seattle stadium like we’re accustomed to with the 12s and all that kind of stuff, so we’ll see what the weather looks like, but if John is the one that ends up having to go, I think he’ll handle it well.”
McVay also didn’t shut down the possibility that both quarterbacks make an appearance.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point,” he said.
Where does that leave the Seahawks in their preparation? They’re still planning for the Rams offense they’ve grown to know the past few years.
“They’re not going to come out here and be something that they’re not,” veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “They’re not going to change up who they are. I definitely feel that they’re going to add one or two new plays that we might not have seen before, things of that nature, but if you read your keys and do your things that you’re called upon on those plays, you’ll be fine.
“I think a lot of it is just which team is going to execute the most? Which team is going to prepare the best, and just lock in? It’s really about focus this go around.”
There figure to be some differences in Los Angeles’ offense if Wolford starts in place of Goff again, and more designed runs. Wolford rushed for 56 yards in one start, while Goff rushed for 99 across 15 games.
“(Wolford) was a little quicker to take off, maybe and use his legs to make a couple first downs, and he did a nice job on third down,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He had good third down numbers for the day and he ran for a couple of them himself.
“So, a little different, but the plays were basically the same and the style of play. It’s 16-17 games now. They’re going to do the same stuff that they’ve got to do.”
In the Week 16 meeting, Seattle’s defense held the Rams out of the end zone — Los Angeles hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown since Week 15 — and 334 total yards, and veteran linebacker K.J. Wright anticipates needing a similar effort Saturday.
“We had a great game against them two weeks ago,” Wright said. “We’ve got to make sure we repeat that and have another successful game.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 8:41 PM.
