Tag: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford admits Patriots QB Drake Maye is ‘hell of a talent’

Matthew Stafford was impressed with Drake Maye

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford praised New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, after a hard-fought 28-22 win over the Patriots.

Stafford had one of his best games of the season. He went 18-of-27 on the afternoon, throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He cracked the Patriots’ defensive secondary for big yardage.

Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp both had big games with 100-plus rushing yards each.

Stafford admitted to feeling impressed with Maye, who kept the Patriots in the game. The rookie went 30-of-40 passing for 282 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The veteran gave him a shout-out following the game.

“It was fun to watch Drake play today. I think he’s a hell of a talent. Seems to have his head on right, and he’s going to be a really good player for a long time,” said Stafford.

Rams coach Sean McVay also had heavy praise for Maye after the game, calling him a “stud” and a “special” player.

This all sounds good for the rookie quarterback, but it’ll be up to the Patriots to ensure Maye continues to have a solid developmental track of progression.

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Cooper Kupp’s 69-yard TD was another perfect example of his chemistry with Matthew Stafford

Cooper Kupp adjusted his route mid-play on his 69-yard touchdown and as usual, he and Matthew Stafford were on the same page

There’s a reason Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are one of the best quarterback-receiver tandems in the NFL and their 69-yard touchdown on Sunday was yet another example to support that claim.

It’s not that Kupp is the fastest receiver in the NFL or that Stafford is the most accurate. They’ve had so much success in the last three-plus years because they’re always on the same page – whether it’s pre-snap or mid-play.

That was the case on their long touchdown against the Patriots. When Kupp saw that the Patriots were running Cover 0, he adjusted his seam route to break inside more, giving his quarterback a clearer throwing lane knowing the ball had to come out quickly.

Kupp explained what happened on the play, telling reporters how important it is to be on the same page as his quarterback.

“They had Jones off and outside about 8 yards and Dugger inside and I thought they were going to get some kind of 220 Tampa safety look and be able to drop out of there with how far off he was,” Kupp explained postgame. “And on the snap, Dugger just disappeared and what I thought was going to be a Tampa 2 ended up being a soft zero and it just goes back to a really old rules we used to have about running seam routes against zero and speeding that thing up and ripping in there and Matthew was just ready to go. It’s not something we’ve talked about in a while but being on the same page with him, it’s huge when you can do those and you can make those plays where you have small margins. Matthew’s getting hit and letting that ball go, trusting I’m going to be where I’m supposed to be, so glad we were able to make that one come alive.”

Stafford echoed Kupp’s thoughts after the game, as well, saying he saw exactly what his receiver did post-snap, which worked to perfection.

“I just hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to run that kind of a play against a zero pressure,” he said. “I’m just glad he was on the same page I was on and did a nice job at the top.”

Sean McVay has watched Stafford and Kupp work together for years and he probably never gets tired of seeing them make plays like the 69-yarder on Sunday. He confirmed Kupp made the right play to shallow off his route a little bit at the top and Stafford hit him in stride for an easy touchdown.

“He read it right,” McVay said. “That was the adjustment you want with that specific route and that coverage contour. He and Matthew were on the same page. It was a 69-yard touchdown. We like those plays.”

Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford dazzle for Lions and Rams

Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff each threw four touchdown passes or their respective teams

This would be the rare occasion when a trade works out for both teams.

On Sunday, Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff put up stunning stats for the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions, respectively.

The Rams and Lions swung a deal years ago for the QBs. Los Angeles already has won a Super Bowl with Stafford and the Lions are on track to make a deep playoff run with Goff.

Back to Sunday.

Goff was 24-of-29 for 412 yards with four TD passes in a 52-6 demolition of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

At the same time, Stafford was 18-of-27 for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-22 win over the New England Patriots.

Combined, the QBs completed 42 passes for 707 yards and eight touchdowns.

One can say both teams are happy with the overall results of that trade.

Matthew Stafford passed Eli Manning for 10th on NFL’s all-time passing TDs list

Move over, Eli Manning. Matthew Stafford is now 10th all-time for the most touchdown passes in NFL history 🏆

Matthew Stafford hasn’t solidified himself as a Hall of Famer just yet, but he’s strengthening his case with each game he plays. On Sunday against the New England Patriots, he added to his remarkable resume by moving up the NFL’s all-time passing touchdowns list.

With his first score of the game, a 5-yard touchdown to Cooper Kupp, Stafford moved past Eli Manning for 10th in NFL history with 367 career touchdown passes. That leaves just nine players with more touchdown passes than Stafford, with Matt Ryan being his next target at No. 9 (381 TDs).

The only active quarterback with more touchdown passes than Stafford is Aaron Rodgers, who was at 490 entering Week 11. Tom Brady is the all-time leader with 649, so Stafford has a long way to go if he’s going to catch the GOAT – a near-impossible feat for any quarterback, at this point.

Stafford added three more touchdowns later on in the game, putting him at 370. With seven full games remaining, Stafford could catch Ryan for ninth all-time, putting him within striking distance of Ben Roethlisberger for eighth; Big Ben finished with 418 touchdowns.

Stafford reached 370 touchdown passes in just 216 games, 20 fewer games than it took Manning to reach his 366 career touchdowns.

Watch: Matthew Stafford throws an absolute dime to Colby Parkinson for 4th TD vs. Patriots

Matthew Stafford’s fourth touchdown pass of the game was a beauty to Colby Parkinson

For the second time this season, Matthew Stafford has four touchdown passes. His first three against the New England Patriots were all good, but his fourth of the afternoon was arguably his best.

He hit Colby Parkinson for a 19-yard score on a beautiful fade-away pass into the back of the end zone, floating it perfectly over the top of the defense. Parkinson did a good job staying in bounds, catching his first touchdown pass of the season from Stafford.

The score put the Rams up 28-13 over the Patriots, giving them a little bit more of a cushion against New England.

Watch: Cooper Kupp strolls into end zone after catching dart from Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp beat the Patriots’ cover 0 for an easy walk-in touchdown

If you try Matthew Stafford with a cover 0 blitz, you better get to him because he’ll make you pay.

The New England Patriots learned that the hard way on Sunday when they tried it in the third quarter. The result? A 69-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Cooper Kupp, who could’ve crawled into the end zone. That’s how far away the nearest defender was.

Kupp beat his man and after making the catch, there was no one back there to wrap him up. It wasn’t the easiest touchdown Kupp has ever scored, but with it being pure one-on-one coverage, it wasn’t a huge challenge, either.

This was Kupp’s second touchdown of the game, with the first being a short 5-yarder to get the Rams on the board in the second quarter.

Matthew Stafford ready for ‘big challenge’ of facing former Rams CB Jalen Ramsey

See what Matthew Stafford said about Jalen Ramsey ahead of their matchup on Monday night, which is just their 2nd meeting as opponents

Matthew Stafford has had his fair shares of battles against star DBs, who have impacted the overall performance of the offense throughout his career. However, arguably his most difficult challenges came during the week of preparation instead of on Sundays.

While most teams shiver at the thought of playing against seven-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey, Stafford had to face the future Hall of Fame cornerback every day in practice. As they say, iron sharpens iron and Stafford’s daily duels with Ramsey resulted in both players being victorious in Super Bowl LVI.

While the Rams’ cap situation saw their time as teammates come to an end, it’s all love for Stafford heading into this week’s game against Ramsey and the Dolphins – his first game against the former Rams corner.

“I practiced against him for a while there. I have so much respect for who he is as a player and a teammate,” Stafford said of Ramsey. “He affects the game in so many different ways, even if a lot of times guys are staying away from him. It’s basically a one for one that he’s taking away out there. He’s doing a heck of a job like he always does. He’s mixing it in there in the run game, finishing plays, blitzing, sacking the quarterback and getting a tipped interception last week. He’s doing all the things you want from Jalen Ramsey and I got a ton of respect for him. I had an amazing time playing with him as a teammate and that’ll be a big challenge for us come Monday night.”

Ramsey is now 30 years old but it doesn’t seem like his athleticism has declined at all.

“It still jumps off the tape,” Stafford said of Ramsey’s athleticism. “Some of the plays that he makes down the field, tracking the football, blitzing the quarterback, batting balls down or whatever it is, he’s still got all the tools that you would want at a corner. I remember watching him when he was in college, doing all the stuff he did, and just tracking his career. He has been an incredible player for a long time and is still doing it at a high level.”

Against Buffalo last week, Ramsey recorded his first interception of the season as the Dolphins look reenergized by the return of Tua Tagovailoa. With two of the more established passers in the NFL set to duel, it will be very interesting how Stafford and Sean McVay counter the problems created by Ramsey, especially if they need to put up points in a hurry.

Look: This clip shows Matthew Stafford’s best throw of overtime wasn’t even the game-winner

Matthew Stafford’s 24-yard dime to Tyler Johnson in overtime was ridiculously good – and even better from the end zone angle

Matthew Stafford seems to play better when the game is on the line. It’s why he has 46 career game-winning drives, the most of any active player and tied for sixth all-time.

Stafford stepped up once again in overtime of Sunday’s game against the Seahawks when he drove the Rams down the field and hit Demarcus Robinson for a 39-yard game-winning touchdown.

However, that throw to Robinson – as impressive as it was – may not have been his best throw of overtime. Three plays prior, he threw a dime to Tyler Johnson on a crossing route that picked up 24 yards.

The broadcast angle of that throw doesn’t even do it justice. You have to see the end zone angle to truly appreciate how ridiculous it was.

While under pressure, Stafford threw a sidearm bullet to Johnson, who crossed just in front of Seahawks corner Riq Woolen for the completion. It was undoubtedly a dangerous throw, but one Stafford is capable of making – something not many other quarterbacks can say.

The anticipation, the accuracy, the confidence under pressure. It’s all so impressive.

Yeah, the game-winner was terrific, but it doesn’t happen without this insanely good throw from Stafford just before it.

LeBron James gave Matthew Stafford and the Rams a shoutout after their big win vs. Seahawks

LeBron James was watching the Rams’ wild win over the Seahawks and gave Matthew Stafford a shoutout afterwards

LeBron James has become a big Rams supporter since coming to the Lakers, often attending games at SoFi Stadium. He was watching when the Rams beat the Vikings in prime time last week and he was doing the same on Sunday afternoon when they took down the Seahawks in overtime.

After seeing Matthew Stafford throw the game-winning touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson in OT, James gave the star quarterback a shoutout on social media. He called Stafford “a beast” and was impressed by the Rams’ road win in Seattle.

Here’s his message on X, formerly Twitter.

Rams stuff Seahawks on defense, win on Matthew Stafford TD pass in overtime

The Rams downed the Seahawks in overtime on a Matthew Stafford TD pass

The Los Angeles Rams stopped the Seattle Seahawks on two short-yardage plays in overtime on Sunday. They then took the football and won the game on a Matthew Stafford pass to DeMarcus Robinson.

LA’s 26-20 win raised the Rams’ record to 4-4. Seattle fell to 4-5 and last in the parity-laden NFC West.

It was a bizarre game for the Seahawks. The only times they scored were in the final minute of the second quarter and the final minute of the fourth quarter.

Seattle scored two touchdowns in 46 seconds before halftime. The Rams then countered with17 straight points to take a 20-13 lead.

Geno Smith, who threw three TD passes and three interceptions, found Jaxon Smith-Njigba with a 14-yard pass with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Seattle got the ball and was driving until LA’s defense stopped it cold on third and four down in Rams territory.

The Rams took over and Stafford drove them 83 yards in four plays with the final 39 coming on the pass to Robinson.

Sean McVay was one pumped-up coach.