Murray, Stafford look for 1st playoff victory
Former No. 1 picks square off for the 3rd time this season
If Kyler Murray wants to understand just how important it is to seize the opportunity whenever a team reaches the NFL playoffs, the Cardinals star only needs to look at his counterpart across the field at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
Just like Murray, Matthew Stafford is a former No. 1 overall pick who has never won a playoff game despite being among the NFL’s top quarterbacks. And Stafford has been trying to end that drought since Murray was in the seventh grade.
Two elite passers will try for their first postseason victories when the fourthseeded Rams (12-5) host the fifth-seeded Cardinals (11-6) in the first playoff game in the multibillion-dollar stadium that will host the Super Bowl less than four weeks later.
The Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs in Murray’s first two seasons, but Stafford’s Lions reached the postseason only three times in his 12 prolific seasons there, losing each time in the wild card round.
While Stafford reveals little about his personal motivation to break through in the playoffs, everyone knows the Rams acquired him in a trade for Jared Goff — who led the Rams to the Super Bowl — because they felt Stafford could take them further.
“Every time I step on a field, I’m proving myself,” Stafford said. “This is a team game, no question, but at the same time, do I know that when the quarterback plays a good game, you’ve got a better chance to win? Absolutely.”
The game is the third meeting of the season between divisional rivals that split their first two matchups, each winning on the other’s home field. Both teams stumbled into the postseason after dismaying home losses: The Rams were solidly beaten by the 49ers, but still won the NFC West because the Cardinals lost to the last-place Seahawks.
And both teams would consider a firstround exit to be a major disappointment: Los Angeles built its self-described All-Star team with the high-priced midseason acquisitions of Von Miller and Odell Beckham Jr. specifically to attack this Super Bowl window, while the Cardinals’ similarly star-studded roster started 7-0 and 10-2 before stalling down the stretch of an impressive breakthrough season. Sean McVay had beaten the Cardinals eight straight times before Kliff Kingsbury’s group broke through to win in Inglewood in October. The Rams then won in Glendale in December, but this rivalry is no longer one-sided.
“They really had our number as an organization,” Kingsbury said. “But the last couple of games have been a dogfight, back and forth. Lots of guys having impressive performances and keeping it close. That’s my expectation for Monday night. A lot of talented players out there on the field.”