Sean McVay Must Improve in One Key Area for Rams to Be True Super Bowl Favorite

The Los Angeles Rams and head coach Sean McVay will face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10 on Monday Night Football.

Los Angeles is a 3.5-point road favorite at WynnBET, and it needs to bounce back with a win if its going to remain among the top contenders in the NFC.

While the Rams and Matthew Stafford have shown that they're one of the league's most explosive offenses, McVay has been rather conservative in fourth down situations this season, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats team.

"Sean McVay and  form one of the strongest coach-quarterback duos in the NFL, and yet, McVay and Co. still opt for a conservative approach on fourth down," the Next Gen Stats team wrote in a recent article. "Entering the season, McVay was the third-most conservative head coach from 2018 to 2020 in our preseason decision-makers article, and this season has been no different. The Rams have lost -0.41 total percentage points in win probability value as a result of 24 suboptimal decisions (nine of which were suboptimal by two-plus percentage points). 

"McVay has been particularly conservative in the red zone, getting only two out of seven decisions inside the opponent's 20-yard line correct (in situations when the numbers say to go for it by at least one percentage point)."

It's curious that McVay has been so conservative, even with Stafford now under center, but the Rams are going to need to improve in those spots if they want to compete with the best teams in the NFL.

Los Angeles enters Week 10 at 7-2, but it has losses to the AFC-leading Tennessee Titans and the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals this season.

Stafford is a major upgrade over Jared Goff, but McVay needs to realize that he can push the limits a bit more with his offense when it matters most.