Stafford's status in question after thumb injury

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford left Sunday's 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys with a right thumb injury.

Stafford appeared to injure the thumb on the final drive of the first half when his throwing hand collided with a helmet on a two-point conversion attempt, his face convulsing in pain after the collision.

He then aggravated the injury when diving across the goal line on a two-point conversion to open the third quarter.

According to the Fox game broadcast, Stafford left the sideline to go into the Rams locker room. He returned momentarily with tape on his right hand to test his grip on a football, then returned to the locker room.

When he reappeared on the sideline, he had a thicker tape job on his hand and a baseball cap on his head. He put his helmet back on as backup Brett Rypien took the field, but stayed on the sideline through a drive that ended with a turnover on downs.

Prior to his injury, Stafford had completed 13 of 22 passes for 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said the team does not have a diagnosis for Stafford's injury, saying the Rams have a suspicion but have not confirmed the extent of it at this time.

“I really don't want to think about that right now,” receiver

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Cooper Kupp said. “It's just the next-man-up mentality. That's about it.

“It's a very difficult thing if that's reality of what this is.”

Following Stafford's injury, Rypien completed 5 of 10 passing attempts for 42 yards while taking one sack. The Rams managed only a field goal for the duration of the game.

Stafford wasn't the only Rams player injured in Sunday's game as cornerback Cobie Durant left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury.

The second-year cornerback, who was moving between star and outside cornerbacl on Sunday, did not have any wrap on his shoulder following the game. McVay said he did not have a full update on Durant's status moving forward.

“I feel for him more than anybody. If in fact it is going to be an injury that leaves him out, the first thing he's worried about is, `I'm feeling like I'm gonna let people down,'” McVay said. “This guy is the ultimate competitor, couldn't respect or love anybody as much as I love this guy in regards to what he means to this team as a person first and as a player second. Hopefully he's going to be ok.”

With Durant out, the Rams had to improvise at corner, moving safety Quentin Lake to outside corner.