Matthew Stafford can solidify his legacy with Super Bowl victory

One more game stands in his way. Matthew Stafford, the LA Rams quarterback, has risen from 0-3 in his NFL Playoff experience to 3-3 in the NFL Playoffs in just his first season with the LA Rams. But there is still work to be done. The LA Rams are now one win away from being the best in the NFL. A league of 32 teams has been whittled down to two final contestants. Neither team has won a Super Bowl for their respective cities, which fills Super Bowl LVI with all the drama and intrigue of an Academy Award-winning movie script

After beating the San Francisco 49ers, Stafford inched one step closer to finally lifting the Lombardi trophy. He started the game off shaky with a crucial interception in the red zone, and it looked like he might fall short yet again. In the 4th quarter, he was down 17-7 then he did what he does, pulling off another 4th quarter comeback. It was a thrilling 20-17 win. The Rams will hope for more of a home-field advantage when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. The Rams will be a -4.5 favorite against the Bengals via WynnBett

Rams Super Bowl record in LA and STL

The Rams will look to win their first Super Bowl for the city of Los Angeles. Historically, the franchise has gone 0-2 as the Los Angles Rams. They lost Super Bowl XIV to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 31-19. Their head coach at the time was Ray Malavasi, and their quarterback was Vince Ferragamo.

The team has also lost Super Bowl LIII three years ago when second-year head coach Sean McVay led his team with young quarterback Jared Goff to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. But that game proved to be a defensive struggle which the Rams lost by a score of 13-3.

The franchise’s lone win came as the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV for the “Greatest Show on Turf”. That victory came at the expense of the Tennessee Titans, who came up one yard short of tying the game as time ticked away. Simply known as The Tackle, inside linebacker Mike Jones made a perfect tackle on Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson to bring him down one-yard short of the goal line as time expired.

Stafford’s Hall of Fame case

There are plenty of NFL careers and legacies in the mix in this game. There is the imminent decision to retire face long-time Rams offensive tackle, Andrew Whitworth. There is the back-from-retirement case of defensive back Eric Weddle, who shook off the rust of not playing in the NFL for two seasons to start and play well for the Rams in the playoffs. There are the legacies of LA Rams veterans like Odell Beckam Jr., of All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey, and of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald. There is even the opportunity for veteran RB Sony Michel and OLB Von Miller to shout to the entire NFL “We are not done yet.” with a win with the Rams.

But perhaps quarterback Matthew Stafford has the most on the line because he needs this game to validate his legacy. Stafford is looking to join the exclusive club of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks if he has any hope of realistically earning a nomination for the NFL Hall of Fame. This could very well be his best opportunity to do so. At 34 years old, he only has a few prime years left.

Stafford currently ranks as the NFL’s 12th All-Time Career Passing Leader with  323 passing touchdowns and 49,995 passing yards. He ranks 11th on the NFL’s All-Time Career Passers with 4,302 completions. All records make a very compelling case for his consideration to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame

Will Stafford be Warner or Marino?

The only glaring blemish in Matthew Stafford’s NFL career has been his level of success. Like it or not, there is a bias in the NFL for quarterbacks to lead a Super Bowl-winning team for the NFL Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, winning has been the only thing that has eluded Stafford. Not only did he finish with a career of 74-90-1 in 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, but he was 0-3 in the playoffs with them in the playoffs before this year.  In fact, it was that bleak track record with the Lions that likely compelled him to request a trade one year ago.

So far, he now has a 3-3 record after three nice wins to get the Rams to this point. In doing so, he has completed 72 percent of his passes and thrown for 905 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. His regular-season success has also been noteworthy. He has now led two of the best single seasons for wide receivers in NFL history with both Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and LA Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

This season was arguably Stafford’s best, as he tied his career-high record of 41 touchdown passes. He also threw for 4,996 yards and tied his career-high with a completion rate of 67.2 percent accuracy. Stafford can join the ranks of Rams quarterback legends and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as the only Rams franchise quarterback to win the Lombardi with a Super Bowl win.

But it’s not all or nothing. Even if he doesn’t win, he will be ultimately be grouped with NFL legends who have never won a Super Bowl. That group includes such NFL quarterbacks as Dan Marino, Warren Moon, and Phillip Rivers. They are all great NFL players that are just missing a Super Bowl victory.

One game. One contest. The thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat. Like it or not,  it’s all on the line for Matthew Stafford. This was the reason LA Rams head coach Sean McVay wanted to trade for him.  Now that he is here, he is just one win away from everything from their ultimate goal. The Rams are the better team. but will they be able to get it done next Sunday?