On Thursday afternoon, inside a tension-filled Rams headquarters, everyone in the building understood the backdrop, the history and the magnitude. In roughly 72 hours, they would host the 49ers, with a berth to Super Bowl LVI at stake. This game—and that game—would be held in their home venue, SoFi Stadium. They’d avoid the logistical headaches that come with having to travel. But before they could become both the second team in NFL history and the second in a row to play for a championship at home, they needed to confront their nemesis, the same opponent who had beaten them six straight times.
Two Rams, Sean McVay and Von Miller, met for a brief conversation that morning, the same week the edge rusher had enlightened his head coach. In enlightening McVay, Miller had focused on one moment that he believes sparked the Broncos team he starred for during their triumph in Super Bowl 50. He wanted McVay to recreate it.
That afternoon, McVay planned to pace the Rams through practice in full pads, hoping to sharpen them for the physical, tight affair everyone expected. McVay wondered if it was too early to re-create what they envisioned. But Miller smiled. He told McVay that when McVay chose to unveil their plan didn’t matter. How he’d unveil it did.
