Matthew Stafford does not typically stray much from comments about sticking with his process.
But in the wake of a rash of injuries suffered by several of the Rams’ key players, the veteran quarterback and reigning NFL most valuable player on Wednesday sounded as if he intended to be a calming presence.
“Been a part of these times before,” said Stafford, an 18th-year pro. “That’s when my role becomes even more important as a leader, as somebody that can try and help steady the ship for us and make sure that I’m doing my part to do everything I can to help us win football games becomes even more important.”
Stafford has passed for 11 touchdowns with six interceptions for a team that has lost two games in a row to fall to 2-4.
Coach Sean McVay has said Adams would be out six to 10 weeks because of a hamstring injury. The Rams on Wednesday placed Turner on injured reserve because of a groin strain, and Ford is out for the season because of a ruptured triceps.
On Monday, McVay said linebacker Nate Landman was in concussion protocol. And All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, who sat out against the Cardinals because of a groin injury, did not practice Wednesday.
Edge rusher Myles Garrett and tight end Terrance Ferguson remain on injured reserve.
“Everybody sees these and they’re on their fantasy team or whatever and they’re like, ‘Aww. I’ve got to trade a guy in and out now,’” Stafford said. “And we’re like, well that guy’s worked … for the last eight months to get this opportunity and it’s unfortunate he doesn’t get to do what he loves to do. … I know the work that they put into it to be out here doing what they love.
“I just feel even more responsibility to try and be as good as I can be.”
The Rams have four more games — against the Raiders, Chargers, Washington Commanders and the Cardinals — before a bye.
Stafford indicated he would lead by example — and more.
“I’m not going to go outside of the framework of what I feel comfortable with when it comes to leadership,” Stafford said, “but at the same time, just how steady can I be? How good can I be?
“Sometimes that’s having a conversation with a guy. Other times that’s checking the ball down and not forcing one…
“I just want to lead the way for those guys and let them know that, ‘Listen, I’ve been in instances like this before and I’ve been on teams that have turned things around in that regard.’ So hopefully they can look to me and feel comfortable that I’m leading the way and doing what I can to help us be where we want to be.”
Rams tight end Colby Parkinson scores a touchdown in front of Cardinals safety Andrew Wingard at SoFi Stadium Sunday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
First-year Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur, the Rams former offensive coordinator, outcoached and outmaneuvered friend and mentor Sean McVay.
With just more than a third of the season complete, the Rams are 2-4.
The Rams failed to bounce back from their overtime defeat by the powerful Buffalo Bills and lost to a Cardinals team that entered the game having given up at least 31 points in each of its last four.
Only six players from the team that won Super Bowl LVI are still on the roster: Quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, tight end Tyler Higbee, center Coleman Shelton, left tackle Alaric Jackson and receiver Tutu Atwell.
During the offseason they added two players with two Super Bowl rings each: cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford looks to pass the ball against the Cardinals at Sofi Stadium on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
But they have not looked anything like a Super Bowl contender.
An offense that went into the game as the league’s most productive from a yardage standpoint managed only a field goal and two touchdowns.
Stafford completed 25 of 33 passes for 222 yards.
With left tackle Alaric Jackson suspended for the game for punching Bill linebacker Bradley Chubb on the field after the Rams loss, veteran David Quessenberry started for the first time since 2023.
The Cardinals predictably brought pressure and blitzed, sacking Stafford three times and hitting him seven times.
Safety Quentin Lake intercepted a pass for a defense that was without All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie because of a groin injury. The defense gave up only field goals and gave the offense multiple opportunities.
And special teams continued to be a disaster.
New kicker Blake Grupe, signed this week after the Rams released struggling Harrison Mevis, kicked a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter. But on the ensuing kickoff, Devin Duvernay returned Grupe’s kick 40 yards before the 5-foot-7, 156-pound Grupe hurled his body to stop him. Grupe suffered a knee injury and did not return.
The Rams managed Grupe’s 44-yard field goal and Corum’s touchdown for a 9-9 tie at halftime.
The Cardinals consumed nearly nine minutes of the third quarter before kicking a field goal for a 12-9 lead.
The loss of Grupe then came into play again late in the third quarter. On a fourth-and-one at the Cardinals’ 27-yard, McVay opted to go for it. Davis Allen lined up in the backfield and took a handoff from Stafford, but the Cardinals stopped him for no gain.
The Cardinals added another field goal with 9:28 left for a 15-9 lead.
The Rams then put together a lively drive, but Higbee fumbled with just under eight minutes left.
They got the ball back with just less than seven minutes remaining. They drove into Cardinals’ territory with about three minutes left but a false-start penalty gave them a fourth-and-eight situation, and Stafford’s pass to running back Kyren Williams fell incomplete.
But the Rams got one more chance when they got the ball with 2:48 left.
Stafford escaped pressure and found Nacua, for a mid-range pass that he turned into a 32-yard gain. Stafford connected again with Nacua for 16 yards to the Cardinals’ 13-yard line.
Stafford’s six-yard touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson tied the score, and punter Ethan Evans came on to kick the extra point to give the Rams the lead.
But the Cardinals came back with the help of a personal-foul penalty after a completed pass. And Ryland’s sixth field goal finished the Rams.
The Rams quarterback gave another masterclass last Sunday when he led the Rams to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Stafford’s 40th fourth-quarter comeback victory, leaving the 18th-year pro one shy of tying Ben Roethlisberger for third on the all-time list behind Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.
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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
Stafford, 38, has passed for six touchdowns, with six interceptions, for a team that is 2-2 going into its game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
Stafford is tied with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert for second-most interceptions in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who has seven.
And while Stafford’s numbers are more middling than fall-off-a-cliff poor, they rank among his slowest statistical starts.
Only twice in his career has Stafford had six passes intercepted in the first four games.
As a rookie in 2009, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft had three passes intercepted in his first game, two in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth.
The same pattern repeated in 2022 during the Rams’ infamous Super Bowl hangover that ended with a 5-12 record, and Stafford on injured reserve.
Last season, in the Rams’ first four games, Stafford passed for eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, en route to a 3-1 start and what eventually became his run to a first MVP award.
So Stafford acknowledged that he personally has “room for improvement.”
“Some really bright moments, and some stuff I’m really proud of,” Stafford said, “and stuff that I definitely wish I could take back and help us be in a better position to win games. That comes with the position.”
The Rams’ — and Stafford’s — season began poorly after the team’s misguided decision to arrive in Australia the day before they played the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. Stafford passed for only 155 yards, with an interception, in a 27-7 defeat.
Stafford rebounded by passing for four touchdowns, with an interception, in a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.
In the next game at Denver, Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns. But Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one he returned for a touchdown and another in the end zone in the final seconds of a 30-26 Rams defeat.
Against the Eagles, Stafford completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, with two interceptions.
“He was at his best in the most important moments,” coach Sean McVay said. “That’s the competitive greatness — to find a way in spite of some different things that maybe didn’t go our way.”
Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.
His answer: Trust his preparation and live with the results.
“The world’s going to have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day — that’s something I’m used to,” he said. “Are there areas I want to be better that [reporters] don’t even pick up and talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure.”
Last season, starting in Week 4, Stafford put together a personal-best streak of eight games without an interception. He passed for 25 touchdowns during that stretch. In 17 games, he passed for a career-best 46 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.
Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low. So that won’t change.
“I want to do everything I can to put our team in the best position to succeed,” he said. “I’ve done that sometimes this year and other times I have not.
“I want to make sure that I do that at a more consistent clip moving forward.”
Peyton Manning sat in the studio and cued the video. Stafford looked off a Philadelphia safety last Sunday to hold him in place. He froze a cornerback with a glance. Then he threw an out-and-up to Puka Nacua, absorbing a big hit as he released the ball.
“That’s a lot of looking off,” Manning said.
Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, watching from his own home studio, agreed.
“The quarterback will lie to you,” Kuechly said. “He’s going to look you off. He’s going to pump you. But the one thing that never lies to you is the route.”
Welcome to “The Breakdown,” the ESPN2 show in which Manning and Kuechly provide different perspectives from opposite sides of the ball, discussing strategy, preparation and key storylines heading into marquee NFL matchups.
This show airs on Friday at 12:30 p.m. PDT, and this week’s episode focuses on Monday night’s game between the Rams and Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium. The show is in its second season, and Kuechly replaces Bill Belichick, who played the defensive counterpart to Manning in Season 1.
“I’ve had lots of college coaches and pro players and high school coaches that watch this show that love it,” Manning said. “Because they want the details, but also for the casual fan to be able to understand and follow the game and maybe be entertained at the same time. It’s a delicate balance.”
Elements that Manning and Kuechly identified as critical to Monday’s game:
Stafford’s eyes. The Rams quarterback will try to move Buffalo defenders with his looks, a flick of his shoulders, a tiny pump fake. Kuechly advises defenders to watch the route.
Greg Rousseau. Kuechly identifies Buffalo’s edge rusher as the scariest player on tape, especially with his long arms that almost seem telescopic.
Allen’s ability to throw outside the numbers. The Bills quarterback has the arm strength to get the ball to any of his receivers at any time. “I would need a cutoff man to complete some of the throws he makes,” Manning said.
Quick snaps. Stafford is a master of catching the defense off guard and before it has set. It’s a look, Manning said, that some teams call “cheetah.” Kuechly said the rule for the defense should be that the play starts when the center touches the ball.
The last possession. Manning believes the last team that has the ball will be the team to win, and that the game will be back and forth the whole way.
Manning credits Kobe Bryant as the inspiration for “The Breakdown.” The late Lakers legend created a film-analysis series called “Detail,” which was designed to show the public how a professional basketball player studies game tape. It debuted in 2018 during the NBA playoffs.
Bryant then called Manning.
“He said, ‘Hey, I want you to do ‘Detail’ for football,’” Manning said. “He wanted me to take people behind the ropes in football, so that’s what I did.”
Manning did it alone at first, using only his voice to break down quarterbacks. Eventually, he brought in a defensive specialist for another perspective and they both appeared on camera.
Bryant’s concept of franchising the show across different sports gave Manning the idea to do the same with “Peyton’s Places,” thereby creating spinoffs with his brother, Eli, John McEnroe, Sue Bird and others.
PHILADELPHIA — It’s rarely sunny in Philadelphia for Sean McVay and the Rams.
Before Sunday’s game against the Eagles, McVay was 1-6 against them, 1-4 at Lincoln Financial Field and 0-4 against Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
The last time the Rams visited here, the Eagles blocked a field-goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown on the final play.
And for much of the game Sunday, gloom once again engulfed McVay and a team that opened the season as a heavy Super Bowl favorite.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went right for the Rams in their 24-20 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
But it finally lifted midway through the fourth quarter, with quarterback Matthew Stafford leading two touchdown drives that gave the Rams a come-from-behind, 24-20 victory.
“A lot of gutsy efforts,” McVay said, “and I have a headache from hell right now.”
No doubt stress-induced.
While McVay enjoyed watching Kyren Williams rush for two touchdowns and receiver Puka Nacua rush for another, the Rams had to overcome turnovers, penalties and special teams miscues to improve to 2-2.
After sitting out two games because of a hip injury, Nacua caught nine passes for 125 yards, several during the final two scoring drives.
“I’m excited to get on this plane and get up out of here,” Nacua said. “Hopefully, they have some Philly cheesesteaks for us.”
The Rams had mostly had their fill of Philadelphia after losing an NFC divisional game here in 2024 and last year’s debacle that ended with the blocked field goal and touchdown.
“We obviously haven’t found a way to get it done here,” McVay said, “and our guys found a way today.”
Rams players celebrate with Kyren Williams following one of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the Eagles on Sunday.
(Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
The Rams can thank their defense.
The Eagles were without receiver DeVonta Smith and left tackle Lane Johnson, and star running back Saquon Barkley left the game in the first quarter after suffering a hamstring injury.
The Eagles were 0 for 12 on third downs. They converted only one of four fourth downs and managed just 172 yards.
“When it was the time for us to make a play, the defense stepped up,” said edge rusher Byron Young, who had 2½ of the Rams’ four sacks, “and we had to do what we do.”
Despite their elation over Sunday’s victory, the Rams have plenty to fix.
Stafford was great down the stretch but otherwise did not look like the reigning NFL most valuable player. He completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards with two interceptions.
The Rams, historically one of the league’s least-penalized teams under McVay, had 13 penalties for 91 yards in last Sunday’s 30-26 defeat by the Denver Broncos. On Sunday, they were flagged eight times for 100 yards.
“Any way you could shoot yourself in the foot — we were doing it on the offensive side of the ball,” Stafford said.
Special teams also continued to be an issue. The Rams gave up a long punt return that set up a touchdown, and usually reliable kicker Harrison Mevis missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt.
But the defense kept the Rams within striking distance.
“You’d like to see [us] play as a team where you go and score, and then hold ‘em, score and hold ‘em and score,” receiver Davante Adams said. “But sometimes that’s not how it plays out.
“[The defense] did their thing to put us in a position to win it, and we went down there and finished the job.”
The Rams trailed, 20-10, at halftime, as the Eagles turned two interceptions into 10 points, and Jalen Hurts tossed two touchdown passes to receiver Darius Cooper.
After Mevis missed, it got uglier.
Near the end of the third quarter, it finally looked like the Rams’ defense would be rewarded for a good play: It stopped Hurts on a fourth-down tush push, giving the offense a first down at the Eagles’ 38-yard line.
But Nacua’s penalty for an illegal block stymied the possession, and Stafford’s fourth-down pass for tight end Tyler Higbee fell incomplete.
McVay rallied the offense on the sideline.
“He said, ‘Make things go. Wipe it. Get to the next play,’” Higbee said.
Stafford said McVay was “trying to put some belief” in the team.
“I think we had it,” Stafford said, “but it was great to hear from him.”
The defense came up big again, stopping the Eagles on downs at the Rams’ two-yard line.
On came Stafford, who ranks fourth all time in fourth-quarter comebacks.
“We call it the Mamba period,” said Williams, who rushed for 80 yards in 15 carries and had 10 receptions for 67 yards. “We knew we had to get things done. … Matthew, man, he got us all together. He said ‘Let’s freakin’ do it’ and we did the dang thing.”
Stafford engineered a nine-play, 98-yard drive that Williams finished with a one-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20-17 with less than four minutes left.
Stafford got the ball back with 2:55 left at the Rams’ 21-yard line. He connected with Nacua three times and Higbee once before Williams scored on a seven-yard run with 1:10 remaining.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford slides after running the ball against the Eagles on Sunday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
The play included Williams’ trademark second and third efforts.
“I wasn’t looking at any defender,” Williams said. “I wasn’t looking at any blocks. I was just having that smell, that nose for the end zone.”
Next up: Josh Allen and the 3-1 Buffalo Bills, a 29-26 loser Sunday against the New England Patriots.
The Rams will go into the game a .500 team riding the high of a comeback victory rather than trying to get out of a 1-3 hole.
At some point, the Rams will welcome back edge rusher Myles Garrett, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who sat out because of a sore back, and tight end Terrance Ferguson, who like Garrett is on injured reserve. They are still more than capable of becoming the team that was hyped throughout the offseason.
So Sunday’s victory — rather than another loss in Philadelphia — could pay dividends.
“Hopefully,” Stafford said, “it was really important come later in the year.”
