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Matthew Stafford is a force of nature. Most fans already knew that the Los Angeles Rams quarterback was a tough cookie after he threw a game-winner with a dislocated shoulder. Against the Carolina Panthers last Saturday, Stafford reminded fans once again that he’d play through anything to win.
Stafford injured his finger earlier in the game after banging his hand on another player while throwing the football. The Rams quarterback struggled at first, but he showed up when it mattered the most in the final drive. Stafford drove the Rams down the field, delivering a strike to Colby Parkinson in the end zone to get the victory over the Panthers.
The mark of true toughness for Stafford is that he apparently never told his Rams teammates about his finger injury. After the game, Parkinson told Albert Breer that he didn’t know his quarterback was injured until after the game was over.
“I wasn’t aware of anything; I saw he kind of banged his hand, but I wasn’t aware of any injury,” Parkinson said, per Breer of Sports Illustrated. “And, obviously, we had complete trust in him going into that final drive. And he came through. He delivered.”
The Rams surprisingly found themselves in a shootout against the Panthers in the final moments of the game. Carolina took advantage of Stafford and the offense’s struggles and took a late 31-27 lead over LA with just a few minutes left to spare. As it turns out, that’s all Stafford needed to secure the win.
Stafford went 5-for-6 in the Rams’ final drive of the game, meticulously dicing up the Panthers’ soft coverage. In the end, the quarterback found Parkinson on a double-move to secure the win. The Rams tight end raved about the throw to him.
“It was kind of an out-and-up—the defender played over the top a bit, so I knew I was going to have to get back to the ball,” Parkinson said. “I don’t think Matthew could’ve walked up and placed the ball in my hands any better than he threw it. It was an amazing throw, amazing play, amazing thing to be a part of.”
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