Matthew

Stafford

It’s hard to believe McVay would risk the health of key players — including Puka Nacua and Matthew Stafford — with the Rams all but locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC after Monday night’s devastating loss to the Falcons. Perhaps the team’s starters will get a few drives before the backups come in against Arizona. That would include Jimmy Garappolo at quarterback and maybe Ronnie Rivers at running back. Keep it locked to Rotoworld for updates on which teams will rest their starters in the regular season’s final week.

Stafford and the Rams started the game about as poorly as they could have, shut out in the first half for only the third time in head coach Sean McVay’s nine seasons in Los Angeles. The pitiful half also included two Stafford interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by rookie Xavier Watts. Watts would pick Stafford off for a second time in the second half and appeared to have returned another for a score but it was called back when he stepped out of bounds down the sideline on the return. Jared Verse helped turn the tides on the game with a blocked field goal in the third quarter that he also scooped for a special teams touchdown, but the Rams ultimately fell short on a last-minute field goal by Atlanta kicker Zane Gonzalez that halted what would have been the largest lead given up by the Falcons since Super Bowl LI when they lost in overtime to the Patriots after leading 21-0 at the half. There is a possibility that Stafford and other starters are rested in their final game of the regular season in Week 18 against the Cardinals now all but locked into the No. 6 seed in the NFC.

It profiles as another smash week for Puka Nacua, who took advantage of Adams’ absence with 200 yards through the air in Week 16. The Rams will probably do just fine on offense given what they did against the league-best Seahawks defense on Thursday night. Still, it does cap a bit of Matthew Stafford’s touchdown upside for Week 17 to be without his goal line back.

He added six yards on the ground on two carries. Stafford did have to get evaluated for what appeared to be a rib injury after a drive, and he took several hits. He stood in on those knocks, however, and was able to find Puka Nacua for a pair of touchdowns and Terrance Ferguson for another. It’s another fantastic effort for the MVP favorite, but this time in a game where the Rams blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. Stafford should have another monster game against the Falcons in Week 17.

Stafford was nearly pick-sixed on his first drive when Aidan Hutchinson read a screen and took a target for Colby Parkinson back 58 yards into the Rams’ red zone. But the MVP leader in the clubhouse led the Rams to scores on three of his other four first-half drives, then quickly pushed the Rams to a 10-point lead with a 39-yard toss to Puka Nacua that led to a Blake Corum sideline scamper to put the Rams up 34-24. It wasn’t one of Stafford’s best games of the season, and he did leave a few throws out there, but that just meant he *merely* threw for 368 yards. Stafford will be in one of his toughest spots of the season on a short-week road trip to Seattle — he did not crack 150 yards against the Seahawks in Week 11 — but his red zone excellence has made his floor pretty sound in the QB1 tiers all year.

Stafford made quick work of a low-energy Arizona defense that was run over on the ground to the tune of 249 rushing yards. Stafford did whatever he wanted against the Cardinals, averaging 9.1 yards per attempt, taking no sacks, and facing only three pressures. It was Stafford’s 11th game of the season with multiple touchdown throws. He now has a league-leading 35 passing scores in a Rams offense that has remained pass-heavy in the red zone. Stafford will look to rack up a few more touchdowns in Week 15 against his former team, the Lions, who have struggled against the pass in recent weeks.

A touchdown pass to Davante Adams gave the Rams an early lead over the Panthers, but Stafford would follow up that scoring drive with interceptions on back-to-back series, with the second being returned 48 yards for a touchdown. The Rams’ signal caller would eventually settle in to lead two scoring drives in the second quarter, one which ended with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Adams, but Stafford’s mistakes proved too costly in this one. Stafford’s first interception, which came on a tipped pass at the line, stalled a drive that likely would have resulted in at least three points, and his final turnover of the game came on a strip sack at the Panthers’ 31-yard with the Rams needing a field goal to tie it. In a game the Rams lost by three, Stafford’s turnovers are hard to ignore, but the Rams defense came up short on several key downs as well. Stafford and company will look to get back on track in Week 14 against the Cardinals, where he will remain on the QB1 line.

Stafford and the Rams came out with guns blazing while finding the end zone on each of their first three possessions, a lead that would be padded by a pick-six in the first quarter. The veteran signal caller came one completion shy of matching a career best for consecutive completions to start the game while finding Davante Adams twice in the end zone on fades from the red zone, extending his lead in passing touchdowns in the process. The win pushes the Rams to 9-2, and they now find themselves alone atop the NFC heading into Thanksgiving. It has also now been nine games since Stafford’s last interception, passing for 25 touchdowns in that span since his last pick. Winners of six in a row, the Rams await the surging Panthers in Week 13.

Stafford’s 130 yards was by far the fewest he’s had in a game this season. His two touchdowns give him eight multi-TD games in 2025 as the head of the ultra-efficient Rams offense. Amazingly, Stafford hasn’t thrown a single pick since Week 3 against the Eagles. He struggled against the Seahawks’ front seven in this one, missing a few throws he normally makes in Sean McVay’s offense. Stafford’s consistency and his talented wide receive duo gives him QB1 upside every week. That includes Week 12 against the Bucs in what could be a high-scoring affair.

Stafford fired a no-look score to Colby Parkinson to really cap things off in this one, but the Rams were never seriously threatened on offense. Over his past six games, Stafford has 20 touchdowns and zero interceptions, numbers some might call “good.” The Rams’ defense has not always provided big asks this year, and it looked like they might just script the 49ers out of this at 21-0, but the Rams had to put the foot down once it hit 21-14. Stafford looks like an MVP candidate. The Seahawks look like the best team in the NFL. We’ll create some real narratives in Week 11, where Stafford is a mid-range QB1 for fantasy purposes.