Sunday’s loss by the Rams to the 49ers included not only wounded pride but a toe that may or may not be injured for quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“He was just hobbled on,” coach Sean McVay told reporters on Monday. “He had gotten hit on a third down earlier and he kind of came up limping a little bit. He doesn’t say [he’s hurting]. He’s so tough. It was maybe certain phases of your offense just a little bit more limited in terms of [his] ability to execute at the level that we all know he’s capable of. But it wasn’t like he was going to come out of the game. There’s just certain things that maybe you would potentially call on those scenarios that you’re not as comfortable with the ability to execute at the level that you want.”
McVay doesn’t believe the toe will be an issue moving forward.
“He came in, he felt good today,” McVay said regarding Stafford. “He was just typically sore.”
While the toe may not be an issue, the Rams suddenly have to worry about the crowd at SoFi Stadium. On Sunday, the place was overrun by zealous 49ers fans.
“I think it did catch us off guard,” McVay said. “I think just because of the way that it’s been this year. It’s been a great, great atmosphere, great environment. Yesterday was the same thing, but there was a lot of red there. That was definitely a surprise -- I think it’s a fair way to put it.”
A different kind of red may show up on Monday night, when the Cardinals come to town for a playoff game. And Arizona should be happy about playing away from State Farm Stadium. They were 8-1 on the road in the 2021 season, and they finished the slate with five straight home losses.
