Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams is aiming to reach the promised land. He has been to the NFC Championship Game four times in his 12-year career.
“I’ve been here quite a few times, and I think I made mention to you guys a few times. Forgive me if I’m not smiling ear to ear after the first win or the second win. Just having been here so many times and understanding exactly what it takes to get where we’re ultimately trying to go,” Adams said.
“It’s obviously exciting to achieve the minor goals along the way that you ultimately need to do to get where you want to be. But it just feels like almost like a mythical thing to me at this point, you do everything you can to get there and it’s been so hard and been working so hard at it. We’re close. We’ve just got to finish it off.”
Adams made his first appearance in the NFC Championship as a rookie with the Green Bay Packers in 2014. He caught just one pass for 7 yards in the Packers’ 28–22 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks; the Seahawks went on to lose to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.
In 2016, the Packers lost to the Atlanta Falcons in the conference championship; Adams had 3 catches for 16 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, 34-28. In 2019, the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers 37–20; Adams had 9 receptions for 138 yards. The Niners went on to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV.
In 2020, the Packers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31–26; Adams had 9 catches for 67 yards and a TD. The Bucs defeated the Chiefs 31–9 in Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady’s seventh and final Super Bowl victory.
Rams head coach Sean McVay has been to two Super Bowls and won one with quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Under McVay, the Rams made the playoffs in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. They went to Super Bowl LIII in just McVay’s second year as coach, but lost to the Patriots 13–3. They won Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals, 23–20.
The Packers missed the playoffs in 2017 and 2018. The Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets never made the playoffs in his time with either team. Now that he is with a perennial playoff team in McVay’s Rams, Adams said he has learned not to take winning for granted.
“I started off with a great experience with the Packers and didn’t have anything else to you know compare it to,” Adams said.
“So you kind of, in a sense, take it for granted. I don’t think I was taking it for granted, but you know, you go to a situation where you struggle a little bit more in Vegas, and I was blessed to still have a lot of great football there and a lot of good times. But in terms of winning and you playing meaningful games, obviously, we weren’t in that position. So, being back in a position where you’re with a great team and in a great situation, you definitely have a greater appreciation for times like this.”
The Rams will travel to Seattle to play the Seahawks for the conference title. The Rams traveled 34,832 miles and made 5 trips to the East Coast this season. After their win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Rams stayed in Baltimore for the week in preparation for a trip to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Everything that’s happened to us this year has built us up for this point in the season. The travel, whether it’s having to be in more hotels than other people or long travels, it’s just created almost a tighter bond. ...The Baltimore deal, and then going out to London after that, we almost had a couple training camps, it feels like, throughout the season,” Adams said.
“I don’t think I would have drawn it up that way, but it’s worked out for us, and it’s something that we find a way to just bond together to a point where we don’t necessarily need to be at home in order to make it work.”
