Matthew Stafford

The Los Angeles Rams didn't lead for 59 minutes in Sunday's game against the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers, but they escaped with a dramatic 27-24 victory for their first win of the season.

Trailing by as many as 14 points in the game and by 10 points with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Rams showed their resiliency by taking advantage of the 49ers' miscues. After a missed field goal by 49ers kicker Jake Moody, Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a 50-yard to Tutu Atwell that set up Kyren Williams for the game-tying touchdown.

When San Francisco's ensuing drive ended in a punt, Xavier Smith returned the ball 38 yards to the 50-yard line. A defensive pass interference penalty got the Rams into field-goal range, and Joshua Karty connected on a 37-yard kick with two seconds left on the clock. The 49ers' attempt at a miraculous set of lateral passes eventually came up short.

Stafford threw for 221 yards and a touchdown in the win, and Williams added two touchdowns on the ground and caught Stafford's touchdown pass.

Fans on social media were blown away by the Rams pulling off one of the most unlikely wins of the year so far:

The Rams were coming off a disappointing 41-10 blowout loss against the Arizona Cardinals, so Sunday's win was a much-needed dose of positivity that should help the team get back on track.

Los Angeles will try to continue riding the high of Sunday's gritty victory when it returns to action in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears.

The Matthew Stafford-Cooper Kupp connection continues to be impressive.

Even though it came in a losing effort, the quarterback-wide receiver duo still showed just how electric they can be.

Los Angeles was down 17-3 at one point in the game but had a strong second half to get back into the game. This came against a Detroit team that reached the NFC Championship last season, so the effort is at least something the Rams can build on.

Kyren Williams led the Rams in rushing with 50 yards and a touchdown. However, it was Kupp and Stafford who really produced the magic.

Stafford went 34-of-49 for 317 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Kupp had 14 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Fans took to social media to praise the performances of Stafford and Kupp.

The Lions were able to tie it with a late field goal in regulation and took the overtime possession to the house. It was quarterback Jared Goff's first regular-season win against his former team.

Stafford and the Rams have now lost two straight games against the Lions but still appear to have a promising season ahead of them. A win in Week 1 would have been a great way to begin the season, but the effort is something Los Angeles will hope to carry into the season.

The Rams will be back in action in Week 2 when they travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals.

The Los Angeles Rams are now three years removed from winning Super Bowl LVI, but many around the NFL aren't ready to count them out just yet.

According to The Athletic's Jeff Howe, "There's so much respect around the league for [Matthew] Stafford and head coach Sean McVay that the Rams are expected to be NFC contenders once again."

The Rams are coming off a bounce-back year in which they reached the playoffs but fell to the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Round. Stafford, who was limited to nine games in 2022 due to a back injury, rebounded in a big way and was selected to his second career Pro Bowl after throwing for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Howe explained that the 36-year-old could be in for another big year because his "handle on the offense is admired in the building." An instance in practice exemplified the way Stafford's command of the team can lead the Rams to success.

"This might be a small example, but he made a slight adjustment with a play call during one practice this summer that had the entire offense gushing on the sideline, including coaches and players who were listening on the headsets," Howe stated.

The path to the Super Bowl will not be easy this year in the competitive NFC, but the Rams should be confident in their chances as long as Stafford can stay healthy.

Los Angeles will face a tough test right out of the gate when it faces Detroit on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has gone from "Mr. Irrelevant" to one of the top signal-callers in the league, and he's earned the respect of his peers.

ESPN polled a group of 103 NFL players, and Purdy tied for the lead as the NFL's most underrated quarterback alongside Los Angeles Rams veteran Matthew Stafford, with both of them receiving 14 votes.

After being picked last in the 2022 NFL draft, Purdy took full advantage of his opportunity to seize San Francisco's starting quarterback position and established himself as a franchise cornerstone. He capped his sophomore season by leading the 49ers to Super Bowl LVIII, but the team fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Purdy led the NFL with a 113.0 quarterback rating and an adjusted QBR of 72.8 while throwing for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes and also added two rushing touchdowns.

The 49ers are the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl once again, so Purdy will have to remain steady to help the team reach that goal.

Stafford, who is entering his 16th season in the NFL, is coming off his second career Pro Bowl selection after throwing for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The 36-year-old spent 12 years with the Detroit Lions, but he started earning respect around the league when he was traded to the Rams and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title in 2021.

"When you're at the level he's been at for so long, people take it for granted a little bit," an NFC West player said of Stafford. "And being in Detroit, maybe the market for the attention wasn't really there. Now that he's in L.A. for a few years, hopefully that market catches up with the talent that he has."

Stetson Bennett will serve as the Los Angeles Rams primary backup quarterback during Jimmy Garoppolo's suspension.

Garoppolo will miss the first two weeks of the 2024 season due to "violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances." While the Rams could have opted to sign a veteran to sit behind Matthew Stafford, head coach Sean McVay is instead letting Bennett take on the responsibility after his performance in two preseason games.

"He did a good job," McVay said, per Stu Jackson of TheRams.com. "I think he got a body of work in terms of both of those games going from wire to wire. I think he's done really well in some of the practice settings. And when you do look at it, you're obviously very fortunate to have Jimmy that will be coming back on Week 3, but he's done enough that we feel good about him for those first couple weeks."

Bennett was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft after winning two consecutive National Championships with Georgia. He played in the 2023 preseason but was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list early in his rookie season and would not return.

He returned in the 2024 preseason and it was a mixed bag. He went 41-of-69 for 437 yards and two touchdowns. but notably tossed five interceptions. He threw four of those in one game against the Dallas Cowboys, but this trend could be concerning if he were thrust into game action.

Stafford dealt with some hamstring tightness during training camp, so his health in the first two weeks is not a guarantee. McVay choosing to not seek a more established interim backup shows a vote of confidence in Bennett and that the team is focusing on the potential he has flashed instead of the mistakes he has made.

The Rams will open up the 2024 season on Sept. 8 against the Detroit Lions. Garoppolo will be eligible to return on Sept. 22 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is entering his second season in the NFL and has already impressed a notable veteran.

"I'm a huge fan of watching him play," Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said of Stroud after the teams' joint practice on Thursday. "Throws the ball with ease, plays with a really calm aggression, which I like. … He plays at a really high level, especially for a young kid. They've got a lot around him, which is a lot of fun to watch. And he does a great job of getting those guys the ball."

The two teams face each other in Saturday's preseason contest, although that game will be defined by backup players fighting for roster spots instead of the star quarterbacks.

That's why the joint practices are beneficial for starters who don't play significant minutes in the preseason, and the respect was mutual following the session.

"The first thing that jumps out for me about him is his toughness," Stroud said of Stafford. "He's tough as hell. … Just how he manipulates guys with his eyes, his drops, his arm angles. I've been a fan of Matt Stafford for a long time. I wasn't trying to be a fanboy today, but I asked him a lot of questions. I tried to just learn."

Stroud also called Stafford "one of my favorite quarterbacks of all-time."

While the Texans signal-caller still has a ways to go to catch up to Stafford's resume that includes a Super Bowl title and nine seasons of more than 4,000 passing yards, he got off to an excellent start as a rookie

Stroud won the Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the Texans to the playoffs last season while completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. The team exceeded all expectations and made the postseason for the first time since the 2019 campaign.

Expectations are now even higher after Houston added Stefon Diggs this offseason, and it will be up to Stroud to live up to them.

Ideally for Texans fans, he can apply some of the things he learned from Stafford during the joint practice.

Though he's had to sit out of some team activities due to hamstring tightness over the past week, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is not worried about quarterback Matthew Stafford missing time.

He did say that Stafford will approach this week with caution.

"I'm not concerned," McVay said, per ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "I'm not. ... Do you want him to be able to get the work? Of course, but I'm not concerned based on what I understand the tightness is and erring on the safe side of caution for this week, if that's what we end up having to do."

Stafford exited the Rams' joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys last week and also did not participate in a jog through the following day. He did not play in Los Angeles' preseason games against the Cowboys or the Los Angeles Chargers.

McVay expressed optimism as it relates to Stafford being on the field in the Rams' first game of the season in September.

"He can throw and do some of those things, as far as just some of the movement, if he's feeling good ... So we haven't decided that yet," McVay said. "But the arrow is pointing up and he's feeling good as it relates to the hamstring tightness from last week."

Should he not be ready to go for Los Angeles' season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 8, the Rams would likely have to turn to second-year quarterback Stetson Bennett. Jimmy Garoppolo, who the team signed over the offseason, is suspended the first two games of the year for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy.

Bennett has had a shaky showing in preseason so far, throwing for 437 yards and two touchdowns along with five interceptions.

McVay's confidence seems to indicate that Stafford will be ready to go, though, so it seems unlikely the Rams would have to use Bennett.

In his 15th season last year, Stafford had 3,965 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Los Angeles to the wild-card round where it fell short against the Lions.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford left Wednesday's joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys because of hamstring tightness, team officials told reporters (via ESPN's Sarah Barshop).

With Stafford out, backups Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett filled in under center for Los Angeles.

Stafford, 36, hasn't been immune to injuries in recent seasons. He missed eight games in the 2022 campaign due to elbow and back issues, while an a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb forced him to leave a Week 8 loss against the Dallas Cowboys last season.

He didn't return to that contest, leaving him with a day-to-day designation. He then missed a Week 9 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, a 20-3 loss that saw backup Brett Rypien finished just 13-of-28 for 130 yards and an interception. The Rams' offense only managed 187 yards in the game.

The Rams had a bye in Week 10, but Stafford was able to return in Week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks as the team tried to turn around a 3-6 season.

They did just that, going 7-1 down the stretch to clinch a playoff spot. Stafford also sat out the final week of the season, with the team's postseason berth already secured.

When healthy, Stafford was inconsistent at times but ultimately posted a solid season, throwing for 3,965 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 15 games while taking 30 sacks and completing 62.8 percent of his passes.

The 36-year-old is under contract through the 2026 season, and while that looked like it was trending toward being a rough contract when the team struggled, the late-season turnaround had Rams' fans singing a different tune.

So did the front office, reworking his deal:

If Stafford does miss time with this latest injury, backup Bennett—who had a rough preseason, especially in the opener against the Dallas Cowboys—would step into the starting role. Of note, Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo acknowledged the chaos surrounding his 10-year career in the NFL ahead of the 2024 season.

"It was chaotic at times, but they're all learning experiences," Garoppolo told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. "That's one thing I've taken from this. The NFL is crazy, man. Everyone has got a story. Everyone is going whichever way trying to make it. But at the end of the day, it's your story, and you've got to make the best of it. Good, bad, or indifferent, whatever happened in the past, it happened."

"Now I'm here, and I'm just trying to make every day the best day," he added.

The 32-year-old will be playing for his fourth team in 2024, as he signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles on March 15.

After starting his career behind Tom Brady on the New England Patriots and winning a Super Bowl during the 2014 season, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. Garoppolo signed a five-year extension worth $137.5 million with the 49ers, representing the largest contract in NFL history on an average annual basis at the time.

While San Francisco earned a trip to the Super Bowl during the 2019 season, the signal-caller struggled to stay healthy throughout his tenure with the team.

Garoppolo went on to sign a three-year, $72.8 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders ahead of his 2023 campaign. However, he recorded just seven touchdown passes compared to nine interceptions and was released by the team after one season.

As he prepares to serve as Matthew Stafford's reserve, he'll miss the first two contests of the 2024 season due to a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

The veteran is aware of his up-and-down career, although he's still looking forward to continuing it and helping the Rams as they attempt to secure their fourth trip to the playoffs in five years.