LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford finds end zone better than anyone

More where that came from

There is no doubt that much of the LA Rams’ success was the ability of Matthew Stafford to get the ball to Cooper Kupp. Kupp scored 16 touchdowns in the regular thanks to the marksman passing of Stafford. He also scored another six touchdowns in the NFL Playoffs thanks to Stafford. That’s 22 touchdowns, or a total of 132 points, from the efforts of these two players. Pretty impressive for an opening act, isn’t it?

It was apparent that the Rams were trying to fine-tune the offense throughout the season. Initially, the playbook tried to feature Stafford’s ability to hurl the bomb. Then, as receiver injuries and roster changes began to accumulate, the Rams’ passing attack stumbled a bit as defenses found ways to up the tempo of their pass rush.

The magic mix to the Rams’ offense began to show up in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals in what was a must-win for the Rams. In that game, Stafford found Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, and Odell Beckham Jr. for a touchdown. OBJ would score touchdowns in five of the final nine games for the Rams.  At that point in time, the Rams suddenly had two scoring threats through the air.

The 2022 passing attack should be even more proficient. There is no scenario that will play out this year where the Rams will find themselves releasing a veteran mid-season. And the team already boasts a pretty formidable passing offense with Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, and Van Jefferson, each of whom can put up 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns this year.

What is Stafford capable of this year? While I will look at this more closely in the future, I would expect that a healthy Stafford can complete 425 passes for 5100 yards 46 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Too optimistic? With a turnstile receiver group and his first year, he threw 404 completions, 4,886 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.

The LA Rams are getting a comfortable-in-this-offense version of Matthew Stafford in 2022. So there is plenty more where that came from.