Stafford finally finds vindication in L.A.
The vindication of Matthew Stafford didn’t come with any of his 4,886 passing yards during the regular season, or with any of his 41 touchdown passes. It didn’t come with the Los Angeles Rams’ NFC West title nor even with their convincing first-round playoff triumph over the Arizona Cardinals.
No, the idea when the Rams traded for Stafford in the offseason and then continued to assemble a star-laden cast around him was for him to be a quarterback who could produce in the biggest moments, who could help the Rams realize their lofty aspirations of making a run very, very deep into the NFL postseason.
So what began to make it all worthwhile occurred here Sunday at Raymond James Stadium when Stafford made the throws in crunch time that produced a 30-27 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sending Tom Brady home and catapulting the Rams into this weekend’s NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’ll tell you what,” Rams coach Sean Mcvay said after the game, “he certainly delivered . ... That’s why you go get him.”
The Rams had squandered a 27-3 third-quarter lead. They’d allowed Brady and the Buccaneers to tie the game in the final minute. Their Super Bowl-orbust season was about to go very decidedly bust. But then Stafford came through in a big way with completions of 20 and 44 yards to wide receiver Cooper Kupp to set up kicker Matt Gay’s winning field goal as time expired.
The longer completion came on a play on which Kupp was supposed to be merely a decoy, running deep to occupy defenders and create openings for other receivers.
“We describe it a lot of times in our meetings as a ‘love of the game’ route,” Stafford said. “You’re really never getting the ball. You’re just clearing out some area, working for some other routes. They decided to bring everybody, and that’s really the best option at that point. I felt it after the snap, kind of recognized it was going to be an all-out pressure and was able to put it to a good spot. Coop made a great catch.”
It’s not all about Stafford, of course.
Mcvay got the Rams to the Super Bowl three years ago with Jared Goff at quarterback. And the Rams have two of the league’s most prominent defensive players, tackle Aaron Donald and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Kupp led the NFL in catches, receiving yards and touchdown catches.
The big-name acquisitions continued during the season when the Rams traded for pass rusher Von Miller and signed wideout Odell Beckham Jr. after he was released by the Cleveland Browns.
Yet Stafford had plenty to prove, even after a dozen seasons and more than 45,000 passing yards with the Detroit Lions. He’d established himself as a tough, durable, productive and respected player. He’d had a 5,000-yard passing season and he’d been selected to a Pro Bowl.
But he’d never been a centerpiece player on an upper-tier team. Detroit managed just four winnings seasons in his 12 years there, and Stafford didn’t have a single postseason victory, going winless in three playoff games with the Lions.
That part changed this month.
“Matthew Stafford, baby, he’s got two playoff wins, two really good playoff wins,” Miller said. “He’s played great. He’s (gone) against Kyler Murray and Tom Brady, man. Nothing is perfect in the playoffs. You’ve just got to find a way to win, find a way to string wins together. Matthew Stafford, he’s doing it. It’s an honor and a privilege to be his teammate.”
The Rams certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves against the Buccaneers. But their near collapse actually allowed Stafford to show his gameon-the-line, postseasonpressure mettle.
“I would have loved to have been taking a knee up three scores,” Stafford said. “But it’s a whole lot more fun when you’ve got to make a play like that to win the game and just steal somebody’s soul.”