Matthew Stafford: We earned the opportunity to be at this point
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford played another strong game on Thursday night, becoming the first Rams quarterback to throw for at least two touchdowns with no interceptions in four consecutive games.
Stafford’s high-level play now has the Rams at 8-7 with two games to go. As the NFC's current No. 6 seed, the club is in a prime position to get to the playoffs — which is something that seemed quite unlikely when the season began.
Unlike when Stafford arrived in 2021, this season was ostensibly supposed to be about growth and development. But as young players like receiver Puka Nacua continue to take steps forward, Stafford said after Thursday’s win that he’s “taking them right there with them.”
“Every year it’s a building process, right? Sometimes, you do it different than other years,” Stafford said. “This year is different than all the other years I've played. But it’s fun to go to work with these guys, fun to watch everybody come together, pull for each other, work hard. We push each other every day in practice and feel ultra prepared when we come out on gameday. Today was no different.”
Since their Week 10 bye, the Rams have won five of their six games, scoring at least 28 points in each of the last five contests. While Los Angeles was just 3-of-6 in red zone efficiency and 1-of-2 in goal-to-go efficiency, the club clearly has understood what’s on the line with every game since beginning the year 3-6.
“I mean, we’ve had stakes since we came back from the bye,” Stafford said. "We earned the opportunity to be at this point, in my opinion. So I think we’re relishing the opportunity to come out and play every single day. It goes back to how we work in practice. We push each other so that we feel ultra prepared when we come out here on gameday and let it rip.
"But, stakes, whatever that is — we’ve had stakes since the bye. So, just proud of the way these guys have put their head down, come to work, trusted each other, and it’s showing up.”
Stafford finished Thursday’s win 24-of-34 for 328 yards with two touchdowns. In 14 games, Stafford has completed 62 percent of his throws for 3,648 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine picks.
With two games left, the Rams have a chance to go as far as Stafford’s right arm will take them.
