Matthew Stafford Addresses Finger Injury After Rams' Wild-Card Win Over Panthers

Stafford had a finger on his throwing hand bent back in the first half of the Rams' wild-card round win over the Panthers.

Stafford fired two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to lead the Rams to victory. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Rams won the wild-card round war over the Panthers on Saturday, but star quarterback Matthew Stafford left with a battle scar.

Stafford suffered an injury to one of the fingers on his throwing hand while attempting a pass on a drive late in the first half. Stafford's finger awkwardly made contact with Panthers linebacker D.J. Wonnum's left arm while following through on a pass attempt, prompting the Rams QB to immediately grasp at his hand in pain following the play.

Matthew Stafford appeared to have hurt his hand in the first half ⬇️

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After the win, Rams coach Sean McVay acknowledged that Stafford had suffered an injury, but deferred the revealing of any more information to Stafford himself.

“You’ll have to talk to him about it. He got it banged up,” McVay said. “You could see him shaking [his hand]. But he delivered a pretty damn good throw on the very next play that, our guy will typically make that one. But he’ll be better equipped to answer that one for you.”

Stafford provided the painful-sounding details of what exactly occurred.

“Yeah I got a finger bent back,” Stafford said. “They saw it on the TV on the sideline or whatever. I didn’t obviously know exactly what had happened. Um, it wasn’t pleasant. Wasn’t great. We’ll see what it is. Was obviously able to finish the game and throw it decent. Once the ball is snapped, the adrenaline is pretty good. So we’ll hopefully just keep it going.”

Stafford's accuracy suffered in the immediate aftermath of the injury, as he completed just two of his next 10 passes, including several errant throws that could have been intercepted, as well as one that was actually picked off and directly led to a Panthers go-ahead touchdown. But Stafford was at his best when the Rams needed him to be.

'Steady' Stafford steers Rams to victory with fourth quarter game-winning drive

Trailing 31-27 with 2:39 remaining in the game, the Rams' playoff fate was in Stafford's capable hands. And Stafford was determined to end the game.

“I think he said, 'Let's go snatch these guys' hearts,'" Rams wide receiver Davante Adams said of what Stafford uttered before the game-winning drive. "And that was pretty cold. I actually literally smiled in the moment because...that was one of the most gangster things I've heard. ... MVP stuff.”

Stafford, all business, completed 6-of-7 passes on the drive, including the go-ahead score to tight end Colby Parkinson on a 19-yard pass that was one of the most improbable completions of the entire game.

“Pretty calm. Pretty steady,” Stafford said of what he was feeling in the moment. “It felt like I was seeing the coverages really well. Guys up front did a hell of a job keeping me clean on that last drive to give me time to click through some progressions. And I feel like—like I said—I've been in that spot a lot in my life.

“And so, [it] brings a smile to my face because I like being there and would love to be up 14 and taking a knee on it with four minutes left, but a win's a win.”

Depending on the results of this weekend's remaining games, Stafford will get a week—and perhaps a week and an extra day—to rest up his injured finger before the divisional round.

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