Last season’s playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams won’t soon be forgotten. Not only was it the franchise’s first postseason win since the 1991 season, it was also the Lions’ first playoff game played at Ford Field. And, coincidentally, it featured two quarterbacks facing their former teams.
For Rams coach Sean McVay, it was a memorable game for another reason: As he told his peers on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, it was the raucousest environment he’s ever experienced.
On this he said:
“It was the loudest. Honestly, I thought the loudest I’ve been a part of as a coach was the 2018 NFC Championship (against New Orleans). We were getting ready to go out and we were testing. I’d been there earlier in the season and it was awesome. I remember it was so loud you couldn’t hear a thing. (Jared) Goff’s mic went out right before. He had a spare helmet on. I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?'”
“But I remember they did something genius. They put on the air that Robert Woods had been interviewed that week, and they asked, ‘Do you think noise was going to be a factor?’ Robert leaned over my shoulder and answered exactly what you’d expect: He said, ‘No. We’re going to stay calm and deal with it. It’s not going to be a factor.’ So they put this damn thing on air during a TV timeout (on the Jumbotron), and the fans started screaming. I was like, ‘Oh man, why did you say that?’
“But that was by far the loudest. It was even louder in Detroit. It was awesome. Great atmosphere. Kudos to Detroit. My dad was really happy. They were already on the field. We came out 60 minutes before kickoff and the stands were packed. My dad said, ‘I heard them booing somebody. I saw you walk out.’ My dad was laughing. It was so funny. Everybody was booing me and talking to me. It was awesome. It was awesome.”
The game set a new Lions noise level record at Ford Field, reaching 133.6 decibels, but to my horror, Lions fans surpassed it the following week against the Buccaneers, reaching a peak decibel of 134.3.
You can watch the full interview here, including a segment where McVay admits to the play-calling mistakes he made in that game. The segment on the playoff games begins around the 1:10:30 mark of the show.
