Matthew

Stafford

Stafford turns 37 in February but plans to play in 2025, according to Rapoport. The veteran finished the season with 3,762 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions as the Rams lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Though he is under contract through 2026, Stafford is slated to make a non-guaranteed $27 million next season. The Rams and Stafford will likely revisit that so he has more guaranteed money under his belt heading into year No. 17 in the NFL.

We’ve been here before. Stafford will once again take some time to mull over his playing future but said it “sure feels like” he has some football left to play. The veteran quarterback will turn 37 next month and said less than a year ago that he could see himself playing another “three or four” seasons. Stafford threw for 3762-20-8 this season while completing 65.8 percent of his passes and nearly rallied the Rams to a win over the Eagles late in the Divisional Round defeat. He’s under contract through 2026, if he opts to continue playing, it will almost certainly be with the Rams.

Stafford and the Rams nearly pulled off a late fourth-quarter comeback, but their two turnovers proved to be too much in the Divisional Round defeat. Stafford and the Rams entered 2024 with a mixed bag of expectations following the retirement of Aaron Donald and the offseason and an unproven defense that featured two rookie starers on the defensive side of the ball. Despite those questions, the Rams rallied from a 1-4 start to the year to go 9-3 in their final 12 games and win the NFC West. Stafford threw for 3762-20-8 on the year while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. While he continues to look like a shell of his former self, Stafford still proved capable of pulling off the big plays when needed — which was on display late in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles. He turns 37 next month and is under contract through 2026, but Stafford has mulled retirement in the past. However, last offseason Stafford said that he thought he had “three or four” seasons left in him, so we’ll see how things play out in the coming months.

Stafford and the Rams controlled the flow of the game throughout after scoring on their opening possession. A second quarter fumble recovery for a touchdown from their defense padded their lead early, eventually leading to a 24-3 lead heading into the half. That allowed the Rams to use more caution on offense after the break, something that contributed to Stafford’s lowly 27 pass attempts. The win sends the Rams to a road Divisional Round matchup against the Eagles, which will showcase two defenses playing their best football of the season.

The game is being moved to the horrific events in the Los Angeles area involving fires with the league calling it a public safety issue. The game will still take place at 8:00 ET but instead will be played in State Farm Stadium; the home of the Arizona Cardinals. It’s a disappointing development for fans of the Rams, but a necessary one.

Jimmy Garoppolo will start. With nothing but a minor change to their playoff seed to play for, the Rams will give their big names the week off. Expect Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams to rest as well. If the Bucs win and the Rams’ backups fail to pull off the upset this week, LA will face the loser of the Lions/Vikings showdown.

He explicitly mentioned Jimmy Garoppolo and Blake Corum as players he’s hoping to see get more playing time. Matthew Stafford-reliant managers can rejoice and move on after his three consecutive duds to end the season. The Rams have nothing to play for but pride and the difference between the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds against the Seahawks. (The Falcons can only be the No. 4 seed, while a Buccaneers win and Rams loss would give Tampa the No. 3 seed.)

Stafford had over two-thirds of his passing yards and completions to Puka Nacua. The 36-year-old was highly ineffective when he wasn’t targeting Nacua, and had some misses to his star wideout as well. Stafford has been carried by his defense and running game for most of the season, and this wasn’t an exception. He’ll be back on the field for Week 18 against the Seahawks, but that game could have no meaning for either team depending on Sunday’s results.

The low output was not because the Rams were comfortably up all game and it’s not because they were running all over the Jets. Sean McVay decided not to have Stafford throw in the freezing cold temperatures in New Jersey. The Jets were without starting DT Quinnen Williams, but they also lost Sauce Gardner and starting safety Tony Adams in the third quarter, and the Rams still couldn’t get anything going down the field. Considering Stafford threw for just 160 yards in their Week 15 win over the 49ers, it’s back-to-back poor showings from this passing offense, and they’ll look to get back on track next week against the Cardinals.

Stafford was dreadful in the first half while completing just three passes — all for short yardage — and while he was better in the second half as the weather improved, it was still an ugly effort from a fantasy perspective. Close to a third of his yardage came on a 51-yard connection to Puka Nacua that came on broken coverage. At least he didn’t turn the ball over. It’s disappointing after Stafford was so brilliant in Week 14 against the Bills, but he’ll get a chance to rebound against the Jets in Week 16.