Sean McVay on 2023 Rams after wild-card loss to Lions: 'They helped me find my way again'

An offseason ago, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay seriously contemplated walking away from the sidelines following a 5-12 campaign. After a massive roster overhaul in 2023, the youth-filled Rams, supposedly in a rebuilding year, came within a whisker of knocking off the NFC North champion Lions on the road before falling 24-23 in Super Wild Card Weekend.

There were no thoughts of walking away from coaching after a dramatic turnaround this season.

"I'm so proud of this football team," McVay said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. "And the finality of it is still kind of ... it doesn't totally resonate. But man did I learn a lot and really appreciate this group. They helped me find my way again and how much I love this and love the people that I'm around."

The Rams weren't supposed to make the playoffs, let alone enter the postseason as one of the hottest clubs in the league. With a completely revamped defense besides Aaron Donald, 2023 was pegged as a resetting year for a team whose "screw them picks" mantra had left it a top-heavy club.

A 3-6 start to the season contained flashes that McVay's club could be so much more. With Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams returning down the stretch, the Rams won seven of its last eight games entering Sunday night -- the only blemish an OT road loss to the AFC's No. 1 seeded Baltimore.

"Nobody gave us a chance to even be sniffing where we are right now, and [we] gave a really good football team a run for their money," Stafford said. "Didn't get it done, but proud of the guys, proud of their effort from the coaching staff, players, everybody involved in it. It was a fun year, a hell of a year and something to be proud of."

Sunday's game unfolded much like the Rams season, with a shaky start