SI

Matthew Stafford Had Blunt Message After Tossing Three Picks in Loss to Falcons

“I obviously didn’t play well enough.”

Eva Geitheim

Matthew Stafford threw three picks in the loss to the Falcons.
Matthew Stafford threw three picks in the loss to the Falcons. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
In this story:

In the Rams’ final primetime showdown before the start of the playoffs they came out flat, falling behind 21–0 to the Falcons before coming back but ultimately losing 27-24.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was a primary reason for the loss, throwing three interceptions that the Falcons turned into 14 points. Heading into the game, the gunslinger had taken impeccable care of the football to the tune of 40 touchdowns to just five interceptions. On Monday though, he committed three turnovers and missed an open receiver on their final drive as his MVP candidacy took a big hit.

Stafford explained his viewpoint of what went wrong on the interceptions after the game. “We had the short under route to Ferg, and 31 [Xavier Watts] did a good job of jumping it,” he said. “Played the sticks and made a nice catch. Had we kept going there it would have felt like a nice little rhythm in the second half. Poor decision I guess there … felt aggressively to try and get the first down there. The one down the sideline, we got one of our fastest guys on a linebacker, just tried to put it up. Looks like I left it a little bit short maybe. The other one over the middle that Bates got, just gotta burn the ball and not make a bad play worse.”

The Rams came into this game with extra rest after falling to the Seahawks in a heartbreaking Thursday night loss. They also officially lost any shot at winning the NFC West or earning the No. 1 seed with the 49ers’ win over the Bears on Sunday night.

Still, Stafford did not feel any emotional letdown of losing the division interfered with their performance. He simply believes they did not execute the way they’re supposed to.

“I obviously didn’t play well enough,” Stafford said. “Nothing they did to be honest with you. Same kind of stuff they’ve been doing all year. We didn’t execute well enough I obviously didn’t play well enough. That's what it is.”

Since the Rams have now lost two straight, head coach Sean McVay announced that the team will be playing their starters in Week 18 for their final regular season game against the Cardinals. In the process, the Rams will try to rebound and get some momentum going again heading into postseason play.

“If I can not hurt us in the way I did tonight,” Stafford said, “it will help our team out a lot.” 

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark. FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter

feed

Published
Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

Home/NFL