Rams' Sean McVay handed over play-calling duties in second half

Even before his first regular-season game, Rams Coach Sean McVay showed he won’t be afraid to delegate responsibilities.

McVay, formerly the offensive coordinator in Washington, announced shortly after his hire in January that he would call plays for the Rams, but McVay said Sunday that his offensive coordinator, Matt LaFleur, called plays during the second half of Saturday’s preseason victory over Oakland.

Most notably, LaFleur, formerly the quarterbacks coach in Atlanta, called plays when the Rams drove for the game-winning touchdown in the final minutes against the Raiders.

“He made some great calls in that last drive,” McVay said, “and I’m really happy with Matt and some of the decisions that he made. We were in constant communication, but I thought he did a great job.”

McVay said Sunday that “the anticipation” is that he will still calls plays in the regular season. That left the coach some wiggle room, but based on the first two preseason games, there’s no real evidence that McVay can’t handle the job himself.

McVay called plays for two seasons in Washington, but after the Rams’ preseason opener last week, he acknowledged that he struggled a bit when it came to managing the entire team and the transition between offense and defense.

Still, the Rams, with McVay calling plays in the first half against the Raiders, moved the ball at an impressive rate. The Rams mixed run and pass plays effectively and were particularly strong with occasional play-action passes by quarterback Jared Goff.

“I think the one thing that people should understand as well is (play-calling is) a collaborative effort,” McVay said. “Everybody’s on the headset, we’ve got a plan and ultimately somebody’s got to send it in to the quarterback.

“Ultimately, you’ve got to make the final decision, but I think it’s a representation of our staff as a whole when things go well, and that’s a credit to having good guys around you. But, I think right now, the plan is I am going to continue to (call plays). Really it’s something that I enjoy, and I think it allows you to feel like you can be a lot more involved with the offense.”

Coming back?

McVay expressed some optimism that receiver Tavon Austin, who suffered a hamstring injury almost three weeks ago, could return to practice this week and potentially play in the Rams’ third preseason game, on Saturday against the Chargers.

“We’ll get a feel for when he comes back (Monday),” McVay said, “since the players are off (Sunday) and we’ll just kind of be mindful of seeing where he’s at and continue to try to progress his workload. Whether that means he’ll be able or not will remain to be seen.”

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The timing is important for the Rams, because almost none of their veteran players is expected to play in the Aug. 31 preseason finale against Green Bay. So this week could be Austin’s final chance to get work in before the Sept. 10 season opener.

Injury report

Safety Lamarcus Joyner, who left the Oakland game in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, could have returned to the game if needed, McVay said.

McVay said receiver Mike Thomas is day to day with concussion symptoms, and linebacker Carlos Thompson could miss a couple of weeks with a knee injury.

McVay added that he was “optimistic” that linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster would be able to play against the Chargers.