No One is Playing the Quarterback Position Better Than Matthew Stafford Right Now
Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with a 113.7 passer rating and 30 touchdown passes. His 30-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio tells you everything you need to know about the way he’s playing the position. He’s perfectly blending the ability to be aggressive while also taking care of the ball.
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On Sunday night against the Buccaneers, Stafford once again displayed so many of the nuances required to play quarterback at a high level.
This first example was a 3rd-and-7 on the Rams’ opening drive. You can see the concept Stafford would target illustrated below:
This was a similar concept to the play the Rams had called on Stafford’s no-look pass in the closing minutes of Super Bowl LVI (more on that in a bit).
Only a defender in the middle of the field could take it away. So Stafford got his eyes down the middle after the snap, confirmed there were no defenders lurking, and quickly moved to the combination to his right:
Once he saw linebacker Lavonte David (#54) go with tight end Terrance Ferguson underneath and the deep safety moving outside, he knew Davante Adams’ route would be open:
The result was a 13-yard gain and a first down.
From the end zone angle, you can get a better view of Stafford glancing down the middle at the snap before quickly turning his attention to the right:
Quarterbacking in a nutshell is about hitting 1-on-1’s (in man) or targeting the defender that’s in conflict from an in-out or high-low combination (in zone), and holding or ensuring potential nearby defenders can’t be a factor in the play.
No one is putting this into practice better than Stafford, as you could see above. And his best example from Sunday night’s game is still yet to come.
Let’s get back to this opening drive first, though. 5 plays later, the Rams faced a 3rd-and-18 from the Buccaneers’ 34-yard line.
Most quarterbacks and offenses are trying to pick up a few yards to attempt a more manageable field goal in this type of situation. Stafford instead targeted a far-hash deep-out, delivering the ball with great timing, anticipation, and accuracy to Puka Nacua for the first down: