By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay dodged questions about who would start at quarterback in a wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, perhaps hoping an element of surprise could give his team’s sputtering offense an edge.
The 34-year-old coach, who is known for his high football IQ, refused to say whether starter Jared Goff, who is recovering from thumb surgery, would get the nod or whether backup John Wolford, who led the team to victory last week, would be under center.
Asked whether Goff, who the team has officially listed as “questionable” for the match-up, would get the start, McVay said: “We are going to work through that and we’ll see on Saturday.”
The inconsistent Rams (10-6) will take any advantage they can get when they battle a familiar Seattle squad (12-4) for the third time this season and second time in three weeks.
The Seahawks defense starred in the team’s 20-9 victory over the Rams in Week 16, the game in which Goff injured his thumb on his throwing hand.
The NFC West champion Seahawks have the advantage of playing in the friendly confines of Lumen Field, albeit without the in-person backing of their notoriously rowdy fans due to the COVID-19 health restrictions.
The Rams are gunning to become the latest Los Angeles franchise to join the ‘City of Champions’ following the Lakers’ NBA championship in October and the Dodgers World Series win later that month.
The team is also looking to avenge its 2019 Super Bowl loss when the team’s vaunted offense failed to fire in a 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots.
After reporters unsuccessfully prodded McVay for nearly 10 minutes about his quarterback plans, an exasperated reporter finally asked him to “blink twice” if Goff was going to start.
In response, McVay stared into the camera with his eyes wide open before smiling and ending the news conference.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
