Turf Show Times
It comes as a surprise to no Rams fan that the team is resting its entire season on Matthew Stafford. His arm, his no look passes, and yes, his back. That was apparent in Week 1’s win over the Houston Texans in more ways than one, including Stafford’s average separation of target:
Matthew Stafford was tied with former “teammate” Baker Mayfield with the lowest average separation per target in the NFL in Week 1 at 2.6 yards. That is significantly lower than the quarterback who had the highest average separation of target, which was Bears quarterback Caleb Williams at 4.8 yards. (Maybe because Caleb was usually off-target by 5 yards?)
Stafford’s 2.6 average yards of separation highlights how important it was for the quarterback to be quick, decisive and accurate against Houston’s defense on Sunday. Not only did he average 2.6 yards of separation per target, indicating that he was usually throwing to receivers who were well-covered, but he also averaged 2.42 seconds Time To Throw, the second-short mark in the NFL in Week 1 behind only Patrick Mahomes.
Stafford could not risk sitting in the pocket and waiting for something else to develop. At this stage of his career, and with part of his offensive line on the sidelines midgame, Stafford had to start trusting his reads and receivers by delivering the ball quickly, decisively, and accurately to his teammates and that’s whether they were open or not. It’s also why the no-look pass is not a gimmick, it’s not for show…it’s a weapon.
Despite taking what should be considered “risky” shots all day long, Stafford completed 21-of-29 attempts and gained 245 yards with no interceptions. He was not worried about spreading the ball around either:
McVay dialed up play-action for Stafford on 34.4% of his dropbacks, the sixth-highest mark in the NFL in Week 1. But Stafford wasn’t going downfield often, as his deep% of 6.9% only ranked 21st. Nacua ended up leading the league in receiver EPA in Week 1 with a mark of +10.1, better than Keon Coleman and Zay Flowers. He only had 3 yards of separation per play (compared to 5.3 for Flowers), again highlighting how important that chemistry and connection is with Stafford and the trust that the quarterback has to believe that Puka is going to find a way to catch the ball.
And he’s often right.
Now the Rams take on a Titans team that may not have the greatest defense, but Stafford could be without one or two starting guards. He had to be quick and accurate in Week 1. He’ll need to dial it up even more in Week 2.
