Sean McVay breaks down Matthew Stafford’s recent play-action success

The Rams have been finding their groove on offense and it’s partly due to how efficient Matthew Stafford has been in play-action situations.

With a new shiny toy in Matthew Stafford under center to begin the season, Sean McVay was starting to stray away from what made the Los Angeles Rams’ offense so effective in previous years.

Play action was a staple with Jared Goff at quarterback and Todd Gurley in the backfield, keeping defenses off-balance with misdirection and fake handoffs. The Rams used less play action in the first half of the season but it’s returned in recent weeks.

Amid the team’s two-game winning streak, McVay explains how effective Stafford has been in play-action situations in the last few weeks.

“I really think it’s been a reflection and a result of him being able to maximize the opportunities that we’ve had,” McVay said Tuesday. “And then I think some of the tough hard-earned runs by Sony (Michel). We talked about some of the identity stuff. I think the good offenses do a good job of having the run and the pass complement one another and I think you’ve seen that come to life the last couple weeks. But some of those throws that Matthew made last night on those deep shots, the one to Van Jefferson as he’s going to his left, still on the move, uncorks that thing 60 yards in perfect stride. And then the throw that he makes to Cooper (Kupp) on his similar kind of rollout where he is setting up and drops it right in over the top. Great route because (Byron) Murphy is in a really good position. Those are two of the best throws that you’ll see and that’s pure talent, but then also a great feel and understanding of where the ball should go based on the coverage that we got right there. I thought those two plays were as important as anything for what they represented during the course of the game and the momentum that kind of shifted in our favor as a result of both those positive plays.”

During Monday night’s impressive win over the Arizona Cardinals, Stafford completed seven of his eight play-action attempts for 129 yards and a touchdown.

The touchdown was a remarkable play in which Stafford faked the handoff and rolled to his left, uncorking a missile down the field to Van Jefferson to give the Rams a 20-13 lead to begin the second half. The other play that McVay talked about was a play-action play where Stafford delivered a pinpoint pass to Cooper Kupp despite Byron Murphy having perfect coverage on the dynamic wideout.

This now marks the second straight week where McVay has implemented more play-action plays in the offense. As McVay iterated, some of the credit for the team’s recent success in play-action deserves to go to Sony Michel due to his efforts on the ground.

Following a three-game skid, the Rams are seemingly finding a perfect blend of what works for Stafford by mixing in more play-action sets. With Los Angeles just a game behind Arizona in the NFC West now, they’re hoping to see more fruitful results from the offense in Week 15 versus the Seattle Seahawks.