The Green Bay Packers were able to turn it around on Sunday and come out victorious with a 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams, but the Rams were without their star-quarterback Matthew Stafford and it definitely showed in the way they played.
Los Angeles Rams Without Matthew Stafford
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
The 2022 Super Bowl Champions were without their starter Matthew Stafford after he was forced to miss Sunday’s matchup with a thumb injury that he suffered against the Dallas Cowboys a week prior. The Rams were left to rely on backup quarterback Brett Rypien, and the team suffered.
Rypien completed 13-of-28 for 130 yards with an interception, and the Rams lost one of his two fumbles. Coach Sean McVay tried to blame the weather for the poor pass game.
“The weather was kind of in and out of rain, which did minimize some of the different things that you can activate, particularly in the pass game,” McVay said. “We had a tough time ball handling even in the run game. So, there really weren’t a lot of positives to take away.”
The only points that came from the Rams were on a 52-yard field goal late in the second quarter by Lucas Havrisik. The Packers were able to score on one of Rypien’s turnovers, where he had mishandled a snap, rolling to his right and Jonathan Owens was able to sack him and force a fumble that De’Vondre Campbell then recovered at the Rams 41-yard line.
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
McVay said not everything is going to be perfect, but it was a humbling game.
“It’s a good, humbling day. Sometimes you have days like that.”
The Rams have a bye for Week 10, which gives Stafford another week of recovery before they face off in an NFC West matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. Coach McVay is hopeful that the team will have Stafford back for that game.
“I hope so. That’s the hope. I know this…This guy is as tough as it gets,” McVay said. ‘He’s going to playthrough stuff that not a lot of people will do and we’ve seen that illustrated already this year…I’m hopeful. I don’t know enough about exactly where we’re at with recovery, the ability to grip the ball. I’m optimistic. I’ll leave that door open.”
The Rams sit at 3-5 and their playoff window is closing, which makes Stafford return crucial for the team.
“We had kind of just left the door open. We know how tough he is. Whenever we get him back, we’ll certainly be excited about that. Hopefully, it’s when we come back and play Seattle but I can’t give you any updates as it relates to exactly where he’s at.”
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @sarahspooon. My written work can be found here on Gridiron Heroics and also on Wisconsin Sports Heroics.
