THOUSAND OAKS — Rams coach Sean McVay noticed an empty seat next to Baker Mayfield while boarding a direct Southwest flight from LAX to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine four years ago.

“I’m going to prevent you from having to talk to somebody,” McVay recalled telling Mayfield, the then-quarterback prospect who was selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL draft. “I ended up sitting next to him, but he was probably rolling his eyes.

“I had about 30 minutes where I kind of let him have his quiet time and then said, ‘All right, let’s talk some ball, man.’”

After a wild first week together, McVay gave Mayfield more than 30 minutes of quiet time after he guided the Rams to a memorable Thursday night victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Mayfield said he got a chance to process everything Sunday, three days after he orchestrated a sensational game-winning 98-yard drive against the Raiders and five days after joining the Rams, who claimed Mayfield after he was waived by the Carolina Panthers to start his whirlwind week.

“I think probably Sunday afternoon after my adrenaline and everything kind of settled down a little bit,” Mayfield said Thursday. “I slept for probably about a day and a half. No, it was really special. But one of those things that you can’t really wrap your head around, I don’t think ever.”

Mayfield had only two days to prepare with McVay, offensive coordinator Liam Coen and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson before delivering his memorable Rams debut, a performance that earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Mayfield also got “slimed” Thursday after practice because he won Nickelodeon’s Valuable Player of the Week.

But Mayfield’s hectic week of preparation was aided by a timeline of events, starting with his plane conversation with McVay before the 2018 scouting combine. The Rams, already with quarterback Jared Goff and coming off a Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, weren’t in position to draft Mayfield. But McVay was a fan of Mayfield’s game at Oklahoma and couldn’t resist picking the brain of the Heisman Trophy winner.

Also, McVay studied Mayfield’s performances with the Browns after the Rams signed wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last season. Beckham was waived by the Browns after a season and a half in Cleveland, leading to the star wideout joining the Rams and winning a Super Bowl.

“I can even remember when we got Odell last year,” McVay said, “a lot of the plays that you’re saying, ‘All right, what are the best ways to be able to utilize him?’ You’re watching and you’re saying, ‘Man, this is pretty impressive from Odell, but this is also pretty impressive what Baker was doing.’ And so, (offensive assistant) Jake Peetz and a lot of our coaches do a great job of being able to gather inventory and turn it around in a quick amount of time, so you can kind of see some of those types of things.”

The Rams were familiar with Mayfield’s strengths and quickly built a game plan last week that best suited him. It also helped that Mayfield was familiar with some of the Rams’ offensive concepts and protections. McVay worked with Bill Callahan in Washington and Callahan has been the Browns’ offensive line coach since 2020.

“You’re always studying the other 31 teams in this league,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of similarities and there’s some differences, obviously, but what Cleveland’s done, even just watching, especially since Kevin (Stefanski) ended up becoming the (Browns’) head coach, there was a lot of consistencies in terms of the core foundational philosophies of how you want to operate offensively, and so being familiar with that was helpful. Having worked with Coach Callahan and some of the things that were asked, that is very helpful.”

McVay said he remembered a conversation with Brad Stevens, the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, while helping Mayfield prep for his Rams debut on short notice.

“Brad Stevens and I have talked about this before, is give them just enough to try to go play great,” McVay said. “You can sometimes immerse these guys in information and not all of it is necessary to go play at a really high level.”

Familiarity, communication and past conversations helped Mayfield against the Raiders, but McVay made sure to give Mayfield most of the credit for the unforgettable performance amid a chaotic situation. They’ll have a lot more time to prepare for the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

“What he did is really impressive and we want to just keep being able to build on it,” McVay said.

RAMS WAIVE LEWIS

The Rams opened the season with Terrell Lewis and Justin Hollins competing for the starting outside linebacker job vacated by Von Miller, who signed with the Buffalo Bills in the offseason.

Now neither player is on the team after the Rams waived Lewis on Thursday. Hollins was waived by the Rams last month and claimed by the Packers.

Lewis, the Rams’ 2020 third-round pick, showed flashes of his potential and took the starting job from Hollins midway through the season, but he lacked consistency and has been sidelined the past two games with a back injury. Injuries and inconsistencies summarize Lewis’ three years with the Rams.

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The Rams have had a revolving door for their second starting outside linebacker role opposite of Leonard Floyd this season. Michael Hoecht moved from interior defensive lineman to outside linebacker after Lewis’ injury and has produced in the new role. Rookies Daniel Hardy and Keir Thomas have also gotten snaps at outside linebacker the past two games.

Lewis recorded six sacks, 10 quarterback hits, 40 combined tackles and one interception in 30 games with the Rams.