Rams Film Review: Matthew Stafford returns to MVP form

The Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t have their sharpest game in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers. While Stafford still managed to make some impressive throws, he turned the ball over three times in the loss. Following the loss, Stafford went from leading the MVP odds to falling behind Drake Maye. The big question was always going to be how Stafford responded. With Maye on a bye week and Stafford playing the Arizona Cardinals, it looked like a good opportunity for Stafford to bounce back.

To say Stafford bounced back would be an understatement. The Rams quarterback completed over 70 percent of his passes while throwing for three touchdowns and zero interceptions for the second time in three weeks. He has thrown three touchdowns and zero interceptions seven times this season. Only Tom Brady in 2007, Peyton Manning in 2013, and Aaron Rodgers in 2016 have had more. Brady and Manning won MVP while Rodgers lost to Matt Ryan. He is also the third quarterback all-time with at least 35 touchdowns and five or fewer interceptions. The other two are Tom Brady in 2007 and Aaron Rodgers in 2014 and 2020. Both won MVP.

Stafford was simply on another level against the Cardinals. Stafford had six big-time throws in Week 14 which is a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window. His 18.2 percent big-time throw rate was nearly four percent higher than the next quarterback. Stafford did what he had to do in Week 14. The Rams wide receivers had an average separation of 3.1 yards on targeted throws. That was tied for the sixth-lowest of the week. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, 16.1 percent of Stafford’s throws were into tight windows.

The Rams quarterback had a few misses on the opening drive, but after that, he was nearly flawless. Stafford and Nacua seemingly had a challenge of, ‘how can we make the next completion look cooler.’ This was the best the Stafford-Nacua connection has looked since the Rams wide receiver returned to the lineup healthy.

While Stafford had a good game against the Cardinals to re-take the lead in the MVP race, it’s how he performs over the next two weeks that will decide his fate. On Sunday, Stafford will play his old team in the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium. It will be the first time since 2021 that the Rams have played the Lions in Los Angeles. The following week, the Rams will play the Seattle Seahawks in primetime.

If the Rams win both of those games and Matthew Stafford plays a large role in doing so, it will be difficult for any player to surpass Stafford. Those wins would essentially lock up the number one seed for the Rams which would be huge in Stafford winning the MVP.

Rams move Desjuan Johnson to the edge

Throughout his career, Desjuan Johnson has primarily been a rotational defensive tackle. However, because...