Turf Show Times
If the Rams want another deep playoff run, Matthew Stafford must show more consistency
If one thing has been when it comes to the Los Angeles Rams over the last four seasons, it is that they will only go as far as quarterback Matthew Stafford takes them. When Stafford is at his best, the Rams are one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL. However, when he is not, the Rams have had a tendency to start slow and find themselves in a 3-6 or 1-4 hole that they have to recover from.
Stafford’s impact on the Rams offense has been evident from day one. His second pass in a regular season game went for a touchdown. The Rams started the 2021 season with a 7-1 record as Stafford led the NFL in EPA per drop back at 0.407. Tom Brady was the next closest quarterback at 0.248. In fact, the gap between Stafford at one and Brady at two was the same as Brady at two and Jalen Hurts at 20.
In the blink of an eye Stafford went from the best quarterback in the NFL from an efficiency standpoint to the worst. In Weeks 9-12, Stafford ranked dead last in EPA per drop back. However, the Rams quarterback bounced back and from Week 13 until the Super Bowl, he ranked fourth. During just the postseason, he was second behind only Josh Allen.
It was evident in 2021 and it’s been evident since that the Rams go as Matthew Stafford does. When the Rams started 3-6, Stafford was in the middle of the pack in EPA per drop back. However, from weeks 10-17, Stafford was the fourth best quarterback in the NFL. Obviously some context is needed from the early stretch as the Rams dealt with injuries to the offensive line. Still, the point remains that when Stafford is comfortable and playing well, he has the ability to elevate the Rams roster.
That was proven again last season. When the Rams started 1-4, Stafford ranked 24th in EPA per drop back. Over the rest of the season, he ranked 12th and if you remove the final three games of the regular season, he was seventh.
There is certainly context needed for why, but outside of 2021, the Rams haven’t gotten full, consistent season from Stafford. There have been stretches or individual games where he’s shown that he deserves to be in the conversation with the upper-echelon of NFL quarterbacks. There was no better example than last year when he out-dueled Josh Allen, throwing for 320 yards in a win against the Buffalo Bills. Allen would go on to win MVP.
With that said, since 2021, Stafford has not thrown more than 25 touchdown passes in a season. Last season, 14 quarterbacks threw more than 20 touchdown passes. Stafford was not one of them. In 2023, 10 quarterbacks had 25 or more touchdown passes, Stafford was not one of them.
He also hasn’t eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark since 2021....
