Stafford?

Matthew Stafford searching for ‘improvement’ amid inconsistent start to season

Gary Klein

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2026-10-11/rams-matthew-stafford-searching-for-improvement

* Matthew Stafford leading a late comeback against the Philadelphia Eagles was vintage Stafford, but his struggles with interceptions has the Rams quarterback looking to improve.
* The 38-year-old quarterback has thrown six interceptions and hasn’t played at the same level that earned him league MVP honors last season.
* Stafford knows there is room for improvement, but he is also proud of what he has managed to accomplish heading into Monday against the Buffalo Bills.
* Matthew Stafford knows how to finish.

The Rams quarterback gave another masterclass last Sunday when he led the Rams to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Stafford’s 40th fourth-quarter comeback victory, leaving the 18th-year pro one shy of tying Ben Roethlisberger for third on the all-time list behind Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.

Stafford, 38, has passed for six touchdowns, with six interceptions, for a team that is 2-2 going into its game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

Stafford is tied with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert for second-most interceptions in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who has seven.

And while Stafford’s numbers are more middling than fall-off-a-cliff poor, they rank among his slowest statistical starts.

Only twice in his career has Stafford had six passes intercepted in the first four games.

As a rookie in 2009, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft had three passes intercepted in his first game, two in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth.

The same pattern repeated in 2022 during the Rams’ infamous Super Bowl hangover that ended with a 5-12 record, and Stafford on injured reserve.

Last season, in the Rams’ first four games, Stafford passed for eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, en route to a 3-1 start and what eventually became his run to a first MVP award.

So Stafford acknowledged that he personally has “room for improvement.”

“Some really bright moments, and some stuff I’m really proud of,” Stafford said, “and stuff that I definitely wish I could take back and help us be in a better position to win games. That comes with the position.”

A photo illustration of Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen.
Rams

The Rams’ — and Stafford’s — season began poorly after the team’s misguided decision to arrive in Australia the day before they played the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. Stafford passed for only 155 yards, with an interception, in a 27-7 defeat.

Stafford rebounded by passing for four touchdowns, with an interception, in a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

In the next game at Denver, Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns. But Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one he returned for a touchdown and another in the end zone in the final seconds of a 30-26 Rams defeat.

Against the Eagles, Stafford completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, with two interceptions.

“He was at his best in the most important moments,” coach Sean McVay said. “That’s the competitive greatness — to find a way in spite of some different things that maybe didn’t go our way.”

Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.

His answer: Trust his preparation and live with the results.

“The world’s going to have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day — that’s something I’m used to,” he said. “Are there areas I want to be better that [reporters] don’t even pick up and talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure.”

Last season, starting in Week 4, Stafford put together a personal-best streak of eight games without an interception. He passed for 25 touchdowns during that stretch. In 17 games, he passed for a career-best 46 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.

Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low. So that won’t change.

“I want to do everything I can to put our team in the best position to succeed,” he said. “I’ve done that sometimes this year and other times I have not.

“I want to make sure that I do that at a more consistent clip moving forward.”