The Los Angeles Rams entered Monday night's Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings as a game the Rams would likely lose. Still, the Rams were eager to hit the field and prove their doubters wrong.
Nick Shook of NFL.com analyzed the Rams' Monday night win over the Vikings in the Wild Card round. Shook noted how Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had struggled the previous few games, although the Rams won each time.
"Matthew Stafford entered Wild Card Weekend coming off three straight games with less than 200 passing yards," Shook said. "His Rams had won all three games, but he'd thrown only one passing touchdown since Week 15, entering a steep decline from a red-hot run of 10 touchdown passes for Weeks 11-14. Some wondered whether Stafford had lost his touch and was nearing the end of his Rams career, but the veteran quarterback ignored those concerns, besting his passing average from the aforementioned three games (153 yards per game) with 154 yards in just the first half."
Shook noted how well Stafford played against the Vikings, completing 19 of his 27 passes and throwing for two touchdowns. It was arguably Stafford's best game in the last month of football.
His performance was critical in the team's efforts to keep a young Rams team cool, calm and collected during a home playoff game that was being played in Arizona. Stafford's veteran experience paid off for the Rams once again as his productive day helped the Rams.
"He tossed two sharp touchdown passes, throwing across his body to Kyren Williams for the first score and firing a bullet to tight end Davis Allen for their second offensive touchdown before the break, Shook said. "With a considerable lead in hand, the Rams shifted to a run-first approach in the final two quarters, but Stafford had already accomplished enough and proven his point, executing Sean McVay's game plan excellently and powering his team to victory. Those who worried about his capability will be much quieter after this showing, even if he only needed to do most of his work in the first two quarters."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as REPORT: Stafford Breaks Recent Streak with Productive Outing.