The Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl hopes are still alive as they survived an overtime thriller on the road against the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional Round, escaping with a 20-17 victory on a game-winning field goal by Harrison Mevis.
Matthew Stafford did what he does best, leading a drive to get the Rams into field goal range to set up the kick.
Throughout the night though, Stafford was up and down as he completed 20-of-42 passes for 258 yards with zero touchdowns and zero turnovers. He made the big throws when he had to but also missed some earlier in the game that he surely will want back.
After the game, Stafford admitted that he did not have his best game in the cold Chicago conditions, but ultimately was happy to get the win, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN:
“I definitely didn’t get into a great rhythm today,” Stafford said. “There’s no question about that. I had some opportunities in the pass game, just some things that made it tough. Obviously, I could be better.
“But playoff football is about winning the football game. Played great, threw for a bunch of yards last year in the snow and we lost, so that s— sucks. So, I’m happy to have played a little bit worse today and going home with a win. So, we’ll take that.”
Stafford is now 7-2 in nine playoff games with the Rams, seemingly always finding a way to get it done even when he isn’t playing at his best.
After suffering a sprained finger in the team’s Wild Card Round win over the Carolina Panthers, it’s possible that was still hampering him against the Bears. The cold weather probably didn’t help either, but Stafford would never use that as an excuse for poor play.
Regardless, hopefully another week will get him more healthy for the NFC Championship Game, where the Rams will need him at his best if they want to get back to the Super Bowl.
Rams traveling to Seahawks in NFC Championship Game
Stafford and the Rams have a tough task ahead of them as they will now travel to take on the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
The Rams and Seahawks have been arguably the best two teams in the NFL all season and split their two regular season matchups, setting up this rubbermatch with a chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday and will be televised on FOX.
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