5he’s Arnold [Schwarzenegger], and I’m Danny DeVito.”
After the Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, the Rams con-
tinued to build. In came Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd,
Cam Akers and others to join stars such as Cooper Kupp,
Robert Woods and Aaron Donald—with the defensive
tackle ascending to another stratosphere in terms of
his level of dominance.
The Rams entered this season with renewed cham-
pionship hopes. They stemmed, in large part, from
having traded Jared Goff (and draft picks) to the Lions
for Matthew Stafford. This proved awkward for the
Whitworths, who consider Goff part of their family, a
close and dear friend. Both cite the class Goff showed
in the aftermath of the deal, in public settings and in
private moments, like the congratulatory text message
he sent them after the Rams’ triumph over the 49ers in
the NFC championship. It read: Hey you guys, I know
this one will be a special one for you versus the old team.
Amazing how things happen and I love you.
The rest of the season didn’t unfold nearly as smoothly.
A 7–1 start included a blowout defeat
at the hands of the Cardinals that cast
doubt on whether the Rams could con-
tinue their NFC West supremacy under
McVay. Worse yet, three losses followed.
“November,” Melissa says now, “was a
rough month.”
In December, a COVID-19 outbreak
spread through team headquarters. At
least 29 players were infected, includ-
ing Whitworth, who tested positive for
the virus for a second time. But even
though Whitworth was nursing injuries
in the playoffs, he could see the Rams
morphing back into the team they were
when the season started. The addition
of Von Miller helped, as did the signing
of Odell Beckham Jr.
Whitworth believes Kupp’s 2021
campaign ranks as the best-ever single
season for a receiver in NFL history.
He thinks Donald will be remembered
as the top defensive player of all time,
and he saw him become a more vocal
leader this season while somehow
escalating his All-Pro play. He praises
Woods for how he handled a torn ACL
in mid-November and his father’s recent
sudden death, as the receiver stayed
around the team, trying to make an
impact and help the Rams prepare for
a run he could not make with them.
During Super Bowl week the Whitworths continued a
practice they began earlier this season, eating breakfast
on Tuesday mornings with the Staffords and Kupps.
The week after their NFC championship game victory,
they reminisced, laughed and cried, the “breakfast”
stretching into a full, 12-hour hang. “We had all the
emotions,” Melissa says, “and we were in bed by 9.”
Whitworth feels the Rams returned to the Super Bowl
because of the standard he helped set, because of the
urgency he created and because he plays for a coach who
believed, even when Whitworth himself did not, from
the very moment they met. Of all the Rams had to play
for—fame, celebrity, money; the franchise and its return;
Donald and the only “accomplishment” he needed to
complete an all-time résumé; Stafford and the ring he
never had a chance to win in Detroit—Whitworth ranks
near the top. Had he not taken that flight to L.A., not
made an assumption and not been so terribly wrong,
he wouldn’t have been in Super Bowl LVI, scripting an
ideal end to an improbable career.LOS ANGELES RAMS
DREAM TEAM
The driven McVay attracted Whitworth
to Los Angeles with a vision of the
future that they both made come true during
their five-year journey together.