LA Rams Matthew Stafford: Let’s give ’em something to talk about

Stafford starting over

But Matthew Stafford was taking a huge risk too. He was cashing in his stellar, celebrity-like status on the Detroit Lions for a chance to be better with the LA Rams. The only problem? He would be forced to start over. No more come-from-behind victories to recollect by fans in the stands. No more 5000 yards season years ago to help smooth over any rough outings. No, this was a new chapter, the Matthew Stafford era, at the city of Los Angeles, and the chance to do great things by combining two very good but different elements.

Going into the Sunday Night Football game, this one brought a healthy dose of nervousness and anxiety. The NFC North Division had all lost their season openers. The NFC West Division had all won their season openers. Now it was the 10-6 LA Rams hosting the 8-8 Chicago Bears to decide how each team stacked up to the other.  In the end, the LA Rams found out that they have new ways to win and a lot more ways to score, than before.

The game was not an overly impressive one if you go down the career and history of Matthew Stafford in the NFL. But it was one helluva opener for the veteran who played his first game running the LA Rams high-octane offense. And to be very frank and honest, this was the first time since 2018 that this offense appeared to be so very dangerous.

While this offense never played from behind, it certainly felt as though it could have, and quite successfully. And early in the game, when this offense struggled to run with the ball, there was never any fear that this team would shoot themselves in the foot and find a way to lose this one. That was an incredible feeling.  In fact, when the Rams punched it over to increase their lead to 27-14, I began to listen to the game and began to jot down thoughts for this article. They seem to write themselves much more smoothly if I can capture the mood from the game during the waning minutes. I don’t recall ever feeling as comfortable of a game being in the bag in 2020.