[theramswire.usatoday.com] Sean McVay: Matthew Stafford was 'great in the clutch' vs. Lions

Skyler Carlin
October 25, 2021 7:59 am PT
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It was far from a smooth start for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The Lions began with a 63-yard screen pass to D’Andre Swift that resulted in a touchdown, a surprise onside kick that they recovered, and a converted fake punt that led to a 10-0 lead for Detroit.


While Sean McVay was less than pleased by the execution of the special teams unit, he was elated to see Matthew Stafford remain calm under pressure.

“I saw the same guy I’ve seen. You know, steady, great performer. He was great in the clutch. And, really, even when things weren’t going well, he just stays nice and even-keeled. And that’s what a great quarterback does,” McVay said. “He’s our leader. He did a great job today. And, you know, pretty special for him to go over 300 career touchdown passes. Speaks to the resumé of work that he has. And to be able to do that in a win against a former team, a lot of great relationships, I know he has tremendous respect for that organization, the way he was treated there. And I think they feel the same about him. I was really happy for him to get the win.”

Due to Detroit’s shenanigans, Stafford and the Rams didn’t get their first offensive possession of the game until the 7:23 mark in the first quarter. It would be a closer game than many expected on Sunday, but Stafford remained poised to make crucial throws throughout the contest.

Stafford said Sunday’s game was “as strange of an opening part of a game” as he’s been a part of, pointing out how bizarre it was to see the Lions have to offensive possessions before he even touched the ball.

En route to throwing his 300th career touchdown pass, Stafford posted 334 yards and three touchdowns while completing 68.3% of his attempts. And besides winning the turnover battle, one of the biggest reasons why the Rams emerged victorious in Week 7 was their ability to extend drives on third down, converting nine of their 13 third downs.

Late in the game, you could tell McVay trusts Stafford to put the Rams in the best position to succeed. There was one play in particular where Stafford checked to a pass play to deliver a 5-yard pass to Van Jefferson with time waning down to set Los Angeles up for a game-sealing field goal.

Even though it was far from a pristine performance from the Rams in Week 7 against the winless Lions, McVay continues to have the utmost confidence in Stafford.