The Los Angeles Rams won the division and are running their way into the playoffs. Though they landed their chance to get to another Super Bowl, veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford may have fallen into a cold spell at the wrong time of the season.
Stafford has been the backbone for the Rams since joining the team back in 2021 and is about to start in 17 games for the Rams for the second time in his Rams career. Starting off the season, Stafford seemed to be the only thing going right for Los Angeles, but that has not been the case as of late.
In Stafford's last three games, all of which ended with the Rams landing the victory, he averaged 153 passing yards and only threw one touchdown. When the Rams needed Stafford the most on their climb, he came and delivered, but he may have run out of some juice near the end of the year.
Through the Rams climb back to .500 after winning three straight against the Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings and an overtime victory against division rivals the Seattle Seahawks, Stafford was on his A-game. Averaging 243.6 yards through those three games, Stafford came to life for the Rams.
Though Stafford's play has decreased over the last few weeks, he still remains in the Top 10 among quarterbacks in total passing yards for the season, ranked ninth with 3,762 passing yards. If the Rams want to make a deep run into the playoffs, they will need their quarterback to come back to life.
Stafford won't have a chance to reach 200+ passing yards one last time before the playoffs as the Rams are predicted to use their secondaries to take on the Seahawks in the final regular season game of the year. The last time Stafford went up against the Seahawks, he passed for 298 yards and threw two touchdowns. The Rams will need that Stafford to return.
The Rams have been viewed as the underdogs all season long, and going into the playoffs, there is no room for error. While Stafford has not played "bad", he has not been the Stafford Rams fans are used to seeing man the field.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Has Rams' Stafford Gone Cold at the Wrong Time?.