The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Detroit Lions to end their season Sunday night. With a roster whose biggest stars are aging veterans, this would be cause for concern.
But even after getting beaten by their old quarterback (Jared Goff), the Rams don’t have to worry about the end of an era. They can be an even bigger problem for the NFC in 2024. That’s thanks to the age-defying play of Matthew Stafford, the fifth round rookie capable of being his new huckleberry and a defense that improved steadily as the year wound down.
This wasn’t always true, and it’s strange that it took a Wild Card loss to cement it. Midway through the 2023 season Stafford was playing through injury, yet again, for a team with few playoff hopes, yet again. The Rams were 3-6 for the second straight year and sliding toward the kind of draft position that could convince them to reach for a potential young franchise quarterback.
The team’s Week 10 bye provided a chance to get right. Stafford returned at something like full strength for a team that finished on a 7-1 heater, losing only to the NFL’s best team — the Baltimore Ravens — on the road in overtime. In that stretch and including the one-and-done playoffs, the Los Angeles went from a roughly average offense (-0.020 expected points added (EPA) per play) to the league’s fourth-best unit (0.126 EPA per play).
A one-point road loss to one of the NFC’s best team stings, but it’s not enough to write off the Rams’ 2023 as the last leap of a dying buck. Los Angeles has the chops to run it back and be a problem for the rest of the conference. Especially since Stafford isn’t intent on retiring on a loss.
Matthew Stafford was asked whether he’ll be back next season. “That’s my plan right now, yeah, my plan is to be back. And you’ll have to deal with me for another year!”
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) January 15, 2024
Let’s talk about how the Rams look for 2024.