Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay wanted a better quarterback in his system so the team went out and traded Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford.
If the experiment fails, McVay will likely be out of a job.
It turns out the initial results were perhaps even better than expected.
Stafford came out looking lean and absolutely lit up the Chicago Bears defense.
His 67-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter set the tone for the night and finally let Stafford shine on a national stage after over a decade being hidden on the Detroit Lions roster.
Unless it was Thanksgiving, fans around the NFL rarely saw Stafford.
They can get ready to see a lot of him this season and potentially in the postseason as well.
A Perfect Debut
Stafford went 20/26 for 321 yards and three touchdowns.
Matthew Stafford shined in his Rams debut 🤩 pic.twitter.com/zWjUQZDbmM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 13, 2021
He had two touchdown passes over 50 yards and was just whipping the ball around against a confused Bears defense.
That team’s current situation warrants about five more articles.
We don’t want to overreact too much because it is only one game.
However, Stafford looks to be a perfect fit in this offense and this performance came after not appearing in the preseason.
Matthew Stafford has thrown 2 TD of 50+ yards tonight. That matches the Rams entire 2020 total. pic.twitter.com/XAsWeqdajM
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 13, 2021
So he makes a great case for resting players in the preseason and doing away with the narrative of there being rust by not playing in the exhibition games.
He has the huge arm McVay wants and is more accurate and reliable than Goff.
As for Goff, he is now living in Stafford’s old reality as he too threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, only for his Lions to lose.
Rams A Serious Contender
The Rams are only a few years removed from the Super Bowl and instantly became favorites again the moment they landed Stafford.
Anyone asking why was shown why Sunday night.
This is a dynamic offense that may not need a top-five quarterback to succeed, but needed someone better than Goff.
Stafford just threw for over 4,000 yards in 2020 with the Lions; a team that is known for having dismal receiver groups without Calvin Johnson in town.
He may easily go for over 5,000 yards with receivers like Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Robert Woods, and the veteran DeSean Jackson.
The only thing holding the Rams back could be the tough competition within their own division.
All four NFC West teams were victorious Sunday and the closest margin of victory was eight points by the San Francisco 49ers over the Lions.
It was a dominating performance for the West and all the divisional matchups between the four teams will be must-see television.
Adding a former No. 1 pick in Stafford to the mix may mean whoever comes out of the NFC West is destined to make the Super Bowl.
Well, or at least compete with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the right to represent the NFC.
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