Rams QB Matthew Stafford looks to continue clean and clutch play coming off bye week

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Matthew Stafford was in attendance for the first half of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ marathon 18-inning win in Game 3 of the World Series on Monday. The Rams quarterback was back in bed when Freddie Freeman finally hit a walk-off home run.

“I gave it my best effort, but I knew I was going to have to get up and get some kids ready for school the next day, so I left after 10 (innings), I think,” Stafford said Wednesday. “Went, had dinner, drove all the way home, got ready for bed, got in my bed, the game was still on. So I did watch the entire thing, I was glued to a phone or a TV. Good ‘dub.’ That was, that was wild.”

Stafford appreciated Freeman’s latest clutch heroics and will have the chance to continue his own run of fine form as the Rams (5-2) return from their bye week to host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Stafford hasn’t thrown an interception over his past four games and can match the longest streak of his 17-season career for games without a pick, which came in weeks 11-15 last season.

“What are you doing, man? You want to talk about somebody’s no-hitter too?” Stafford joked when the run of clean football was brought up.

“I hope it’s not luck,” he continued. “But, no, I think you got to go out and prove yourself every single week. And certain games shake out certain ways, and sometimes the ball bounces your way and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m just trying to go out there, make as many good decisions in a row as I possibly can. That’s both with where the football is going, how I’m throwing it, all those kinds of things.”

Stafford has thrown 12 touchdown passes during that span, five coming in a 35-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London despite being without top wide receiver Puka Nacua (ankle). Stafford credits the quality of pass protection over this recent stretch for allowing him to be so effective. He was not sacked in Wembley Stadium.

Line play has been all the more important for Stafford after he missed most of the preseason because of an injured disk in his back. Minimizing hits in recent weeks had him feeling good, and Stafford described himself as “pretty solid” after a week off.

“But to be honest with you, our guys have been doing such a great job of keeping me clean, I mean, I felt pretty good – knock on wood – most weeks coming into the week,” he said.

The return of right tackle Rob Havenstein after missing three games due to an ankle injury should help the Rams continue that trend. Havenstein was limited in practice Wednesday, and coach Sean McVay expects him and Nacua to be available, barring setbacks.

As long as Stafford stays healthy, there is a good chance the Rams can keep on winning and playing in the sorts of meaningful games the 37-year-old got to watch on Monday. Los Angeles has made the playoffs in three of Stafford’s first four seasons with the club, and he started at least 15 games in each of those years.

Stafford showed his own knack for late-game heroics during the run to a Super Bowl title after the 2021 season, engineering drives in the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay in the divisional round, San Francisco in the NFC championship game, and Cincinnati to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

The key to being able to rise to the occasion comes down to “just wanting and embracing that moment, right?” Stafford said. “Not shying away from it, and not shying away from the fact that failure is an option too. You got to go out there and shoot your shot.”

Although he was no longer at Dodger Stadium when it happened, Stafford saw that same attitude from Freeman in his latest timely World Series moment.

“I think he had chances earlier in the game, probably, to get a base hit and end it with guys in scoring position,” Stafford said. “Didn’t happen. ‘OK, well, got to trust myself the next time I go up there.’ And, you know, he did a hell of a job, so it was fun to watch. I think that’s the biggest thing, can’t be afraid to go out there and fail, and just trust yourself.”