INGLEWOOD, CA – Trailing 16-7 in the 4th quarter to division foe the Seattle Seahawks, the Los Angeles Rams and Quarterback Matthew Stafford engineered a thrilling 17-16 victory at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, November 19. Lucas Havrisik made a 22-yard field goal 1:31 to play, and Jason Myers missed a 55-yard attempt for the Seahawks with 3 seconds left in Los Angeles’ crucial one point victory over Seattle on Sunday.
Matthew ‘Stupendous’ Stafford left the field hunched in pain after a disastrous flea-flicker ended with Stafford taking a massive hit to the chest while throwing an interception with his Los Angeles Rams already trailing by nine points in the fourth quarter. Rather than exiting the field and either heading to the locker room-or the hospital- this warrior comes out on the next possession and leads the Rams to victory.
Stafford passed for 190 yards in his return from a one-game injury absence and led two late scoring drives by the Rams (4-6), who snapped their three-game losing streak with their second win over the Seahawks (6-4) this season. Stafford was outstanding on the Rams’ final two drives after responding with determination to the crushing hit by Mario Edwards Jr.
Had the Rams fallen to (3-7), the season would have effectively been over, now the Rams still have a glimmer of hope of reaching the NFL playoffs as a Wild Card.
“I don’t know if I need to take that level of a shot every week to get going,” said a grinning Stafford, who played with a brace on his sprained thumb.
“I know that late in the game, fourth quarter, we’re within a score, I want the ball,” he added. “It just so happened that I had my chest run through the drive before. I don’t know if that’s the thing that gets me going, but sometimes it’s late in the game, you could be playing as poor a game as you want to play, (but) you play one great quarter, you’ve got a chance to win that thing.”
Unfortunately, Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp didn’t return after injuring his right ankle in the second quarter. McVay had no postgame update on his Super Bowl MVP.
Seattle appeared to be cruising toward its fourth victory in five games until Smith, who passed for 233 yards, was sidelined by a hit late in the third quarter from Aaron Donald, whose left arm made hard contact with Smith’s throwing arm.
Stafford looked sharp on a series of impressive late throws, none better than a picturesque 32-yard fling to rookie Puka Nacua.
“I thought (Stafford’s) toughness was on display,” coach Sean McVay said. “Maybe we should punch him in the gut right before the games, huh?”
On Sunday, November 26 the Rams will face Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.