How McVay will apply 2015 lessons learned to the 2021 LA Rams

The solution

Washington had a choice. The team could go with the very popular but less effective hand of mobile quarterback Robert Griffin III, or the less popular but very effective hand of immobile quarterback Kirk Cousins. The offense, under the watch of offensive coordinator Sean McVay, rerouted the entire offensive scheme behind the traditional pocket passer offense of Kirk Cousins.

Not surprisingly, the offense hitched its wagon to the passing game. While the rushing offense remained effective enough to keep defenses honest, the points no longer relied upon powerful legs to propel the ball across the plane of the goal line. In fact, scoring via the ground game dropped to just nine touchdowns for the year.

So where did the point come from? The passing game of course.

Under Sean McVay’s offense, Washington discovered that steady and trustworthy tight end Jordan Reed had a nose for the end zone, and he was able to score 11 TDs that year. In fact, 2015 was a career season for Reed.

But he was not alone. McVay used Jackson’s speed like a chef uses spices. A dash here, a pinch there. Jackson scored just four touchdowns but averaged nearly 18 yards per catch. Rookie running back Matt Jones, nearly a 500-yard rusher his first year, became deadly effective in the passing game by averaging 16 yards per catch. Oh, Jones was 6-foot-2 and weighed 231-pounds, and rushed a 4.61-second 40-yard dash. Not excessively fast, but he was powerful and could create separation.

All in all, Washington trimmed turnovers on offense, scored far more points through the air by repurposing existing offensive weapons into new or expanded roles, and the offense harnessed the unique skills of several players debut into the NFL.