Sean McVay pays Detroit Lions fans a huge compliment

The Detroit Lions’ playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams last season will not soon be forgotten. Not only was it the franchise’s first postseason win since the 1991 season, but it was the first Lions playoff game ever in Ford Field—and it just so happened to feature two quarterbacks going against their former teams.

For Rams coach Sean McVay, it’s a game he won’t ever forget for a different reason. As he told the fellas on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, it was the loudest environment he’s ever been a part of.

Here’s what he had to say about it:

“It was the loudest—I’m telling you. I thought the loudest place I’d ever been a part of, coaching wise, NFC Championship 2018 (vs.) New Orleans. We’re getting ready to go out, we test it, we had been there earlier in the season, it was rockin’. And I remember it was so loud you couldn’t even hear anything. (Jared) Goff’s mic went out right before, he’s got the backup helmet on. You’re like, ‘What the hell is going on?’

“But they did a genius thing, I remember. They showed—Robert Woods had been interviewed during the week, and they said, ‘Do you think the noise is going to be a factor?’ and Robert’s kinda on my shoulder and he answers it exactly like what you would want him to. He’s like, ‘No. We’re going to handle it with poise. It’s not gonna be a factor.’ Well, they showed this shit (on the jumbotron) during a TV timeout, and the fans just start screaming. I’m like, ‘Oh, why the hell did you say that?’

“But that was the loudest, by far. In Detroit, it was way louder. It was sick. It was a sick atmosphere. Credit to Detroit, and I’m telling you, my dad loved it. They were already out on the field. I came out like 60 minutes before kickoff, the stands are full. My dad said, ‘I heard these guys, these people booing their ass off at somebody. I watched you walking out.’ He was laughing, it was so funny. Everyone is booing, talking to me. It was great. I loved it.”

That game set the Lions’ noise level record at Ford Field, reaching 133.6 decibels. But the scary thing is Lions fans outdid themselves the following week against the Buccaneers, reaching a peak decibel level of 134.3.

You can catch the entire interview here, which includes McVay admitting some play-calling mistakes he made in that game. The part on the playoff game starts around the 1:10:30 mark of the show.