The back is back.
So is the arm. So are the eyes. So is the savvy.
So are the Rams.
After listening to worry warts spend all summer fretting about a lingering disc injury that sidelined him throughout training camp, quarterback Matthew Stafford took the field Sunday for the first time in a competitive game in seven months and offered a two-word response.
Back off.
He’s fine, he’s better than fine, he’s destined-for-the-Super-Bowl fine, it was predicted in this space last week, it’s even more evident now after a season-opening 14-9 victory against the Houston Texans amid a roaring SoFi Stadium filled with a misplaced cheer.
On this afternoon, anyway, this was not the Rams house, this was Stafford’s house.
In becoming only the 10th quarterback in history to throw for 60,000 yards, Stafford missed on only eight of 29 passes, threw for 245 yards, one touchdown, and basically carried the team from the one place everyone figured he was most vulnerable.
Carried them on his back.
“Happy to be where I’m standing right now,” said Stafford afterward outside a joyous locker room.
Standing, even though he endured three sacks. Standing, even though he faced a relentless pass rush. Standing, even as most of the rest of the team was collapsing.
And, oh yeah, standing even though his coach threw him to the wolves by calling a quarterback sneak from the goal line. No, Stafford didn’t make it. Yes, Sean McVay admitted it wasn’t a brilliant call even for his toughest of players.
“He’s a stud,” McVay said.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford celebrates as he walks off the field following a 14-9 win over the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
A 37-year-old stud who’s been doing this for 17 seasons yet still brings the passion of a swagger and a stare and a shout.
”Your leader embodies… the personality the team takes on,” McVay said. “Grateful to have someone as resilient, as steady, as calm in the middle of the chaos as what he is.”
And that’s not the half of it.
“He’s also got this fire and this competitiveness that’s what’s great for this game,” McVay said.
It is arguably the greatest cliche in Los Angeles sports to overstate the closeness of Stafford and his long ago former Dallas-area high school teammate Clayton Kershaw.
But you want to know the truth? In many ways these days, as they both march brilliantly toward titles in the twilight of their careers, Staffford is Kershaw and Kershaw is Stafford.
Check out Sunday, when, earlier in the day, pitching in the wake of their worst loss of the season, carrying a team desperate for a victory, Kershaw pitched 5⅔ strong innings in the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Later Sunday, charged with leading a championship contender also desperate for a tone-setting win, Stafford essentially did the same thing.
“We’re at our best when we put the game in his hands,” McVay said of Stafford, repeating the essence of what Dave Roberts often says about Kershaw.
Nate Landman clinched the Rams’ win with a fumble-causing punch deep in Rams territory, but it was Stafford who threw the haymaker with an opening second-half drive that changed the climate.
Before Stafford took over, the Rams trailed 9-7 while suffering from dumb penalties and silly misplays.
After Stafford took over, the Rams led 14-9 with enough momentum to carry them to a stirring if fairly unsightly victory.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the first quarter Sunday against the Texans.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“He came up with clutch play after clutch play,” McVay said.
On the second play of the second half, Stafford put the ball over the middle where it was scooped up by new receiver Davante Adams for 15 yards.
As Adams was catching four balls for 51 yards in his Rams debut, his renowned predecessor Cooper Kupp was catching only two passes for 15 yards in Seattle. While Kupp’s legend will live here forever, as long as they have Stafford, the Rams won’t miss a beat. Incidentally, it also helped that the irrepressible Puka Nacua caught 10 passes for 130 yards.
“He made a bunch of big-time plays,” said McVay of Stafford, “and we had to have all of them.”
After the pass to Adams, Stafford threw a perfect pitch downfield to Xavier Smith for 36 yards. One snap later, he threaded the reeling Texans’ defense for a 13-yard touchdown pass to one of the Rams’ bazillion skilled tight ends, Davis Allen.
In barely three minutes of game time, Stafford had utilized three vastly different receivers running three vastly different routes to change the game for good.
Rams running back Kyren Williams, right, celebrates with Matthew Stafford, left, and other Rams teammates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Texans.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
And seriously, he’s done stuff like this more than 60,000 times. Think about it. If Stafford had not been hidden for all those years in Detroit, he’d already be considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever. He wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, need the second Super Bowl championship that many folks think is a requirement for that sort of lofty fame.
“The cool thing about a quarterback. … I can’t throw for any of those yards without 10 other guys who are doing their job,” Stafford said. “It’s really cool to share it with so many people.”
It’s really, really cool that he’s also sharing it with Los Angeles.
On a first afternoon that felt like a first step toward something special, Matthew Stafford once again had a city’s back.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
