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Oh, man. That pass to Blanton was no-look. Stafford was eyeballing OBJ down the left sideline the entire time, and all the WRs completely cleared out the second level. The closest 49er downfield was 15 yards away, and got cleared out by Havenstein.
How about Blanton? I sure hope that Higbee is okay, but Blanton reduced the pain of losing him. That guy was meaningless to me all season, but he showed up for the playoffs. Pat on the back for old Blanton.
And go Nick Scott, too. I do not miss Taylor Rapp.
Five reasons to root for Rams to reach Super Bowl 56: Matthew Stafford dispels myths, Cam Akers miracle
There are several reasons NFL fans shouldn’t mind seeing the Rams win it all
</figure>OK, so Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first in NFL history to host a Super Bowl, subsequently going on to win it as well in a beatdown of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs last year. But with the Los Angeles Rams having dealt the death blow to Brady in the NFC Divisional Round, they’ll now get a chance at achieving what the Bucs did, but first they’ll have to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers when both teams take the field at SoFi Stadium in the NFC Championship. It’s set to be a lights-out battle between the two, with both deserving of a shot at a ring, but only one can retake the field in LA two weeks later.
The 49ers have a lot of feel-good storylines to root for, but so do the Rams, and there’s truly no shortage of reasons to hope they finally get over the hump — from the standpoint of a football fan in general.
Here are just a handful to consider as you get ready for this weekend’s bout:
Mythbusters
As it stands, there’s a prevailing belief by many that Matthew Stafford can’t get it done on the biggest stages of the game. Having long been the quarterback for the Detroit Lions, Stafford was able to lead that franchise to several playoff appearances but never to the NFC Championship or beyond. He’s now taken the Rams to championship weekend with a shot at stamping his first-ever ticket to a Super Bowl in only one season in Los Angeles, however, making it clear it might’ve been an organizational issue in Detroit and not one with the quarterback. So as Stafford readies to take on the San Francisco 49ers for the third time this season, he’ll do so having eviscerated Kyler Murray and outlasted the almighty Tom Brady on the road — in a story he hopes has a Hollywood ending.
<iframe id=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_1″ tabindex=”0″ title=”3rd party ad content” role=”region” name=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_1″ width=”300″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” aria-label=”Advertisement” data-google-container-id=”2″ data-load-complete=”true” data-mce-fragment=”1″></iframe>Green Akers
It’s one of the more unbelievable comeback stories you’ll see in sports, and quite literally up there with what was witnessed from Adrian Peterson in yesteryear after having suffered a torn ACL and then returning to absolutely own the league. Granted, Akers isn’t rattling off 200-yard games just yet, but the fact he’s even on the field at all this postseason is a miraculous feat. Having torn his Achilles in mid-July, Akers was placed on what many justifiably believed would be season-ending injured reserve and torpedoing what might’ve been a breakout season for him. He’d instead buck the odds and return to the field for the postseason, and that alone deserves a rooting interest. If he can have a breakout game in the NFC Championship, it’s OK to hope he’s rewarded for all of his hard work with a ring.
The king’s ring
No, we’re not talking about LeBron James here. We’re talking about the football king of Los Angeles, and his name is Aaron Donald, a perennial All-Pro and future first ballot Hall of Fame defensive lineman who is the best in the business at pummeling opposing quarterbacks, but who has also not yet tasted the Big Prize. He came close in 2018, when the Rams went on a tear to finish at 13-3 en route to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2001, but they fell short in a major way — thanks to Jared Goff and the sudden ineptitude of an offense figured out easily by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. The Rams mustered only three points in the most important game of their lives, but Stafford gives them a better shot and that means Donald has a chance at avoiding being “just another” Hall of Famer who never won it all.
Exoneration
You’ve all heard the rumors: Odell Beckham Jr. is a team-wrecker. That’s the narrative that’s been attached to him since his days with the New York Giants, one that was made worse due to his rough stint with the Cleveland Browns. But lo and behold, Beckham has been anything but a team-wrecker for the Rams, unless you count the opposing teams he’s helping to wreck. The veteran wideout has been the consummate team player and that’s not to say he wasn’t prior to now, but it is to say this side of him is now being displayed on football’s big screen of optics. He’s producing in ways he hasn’t since his time with Big Blue, and has been key in complementing Cooper Kupp since the loss of Robert Woods ahead of the OBJ trade. Should Beckham finally get his first ring, the days of fighting kicking nets will be all but deleted from memory.
It’s Miller time
They said he was washed up, but it looks more like Von Miller is dry clean only. The future Hall of Famer parted ways this season with his beloved Denver Broncos via trade to the Rams, and after a battle with injury to start his career in Los Angeles, he’s come on strong to help with their late-season and postseason push to the NFC Championship. Yes, and unlike Donald, Miller has already reached the zenith of the sport, but he also then suffered injuries that threatened to end his career on a bad note. He now has the chance to flip that script entirely, and to help lift the Rams to their first Super Bowl win since the 1999 season — when Kurt Warner led the charge. Miller hasn’t hinted at any possible retirement after this season, but time waits for no man (except for Brady, apparently), and Miller knows this might be his last shot at hoisting another Lombardi trophy.
Suh/Stafford:
Matthew Stafford unsure why Ndamukong Suh dislikes him, wife Kelly says: ‘Whatever, it doesn’t matter’
The Pro Bowl QB can’t explain the rift that was on display in the Rams-Bucs playoff game
<figure class=”Headshot-image img”><img class=” ” src=”https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2019/08/03/a2626c17-ee71-476a-87fe-3dc2d532f99a/thumbnail/80×80/76de2560ebdcf1a763a1da33692603ea/patrik-walker-700.png” alt=” Patrik Walker
” data-lazy=” https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2019/08/03/a2626c17-ee71-476a-87fe-3dc2d532f99a/thumbnail/80×80/76de2560ebdcf1a763a1da33692603ea/patrik-walker-700.png” /></figure><time class=”TimeStamp” datetime=”2022-01-26 14:44:15 UTC” data-component=”dateTimeAgo” data-date-time-ago-options=”{"day":"26","hour":"14","min":"44","month":"1","year":"2022"}”>2 hrs ago – </time>3 min read<figure class=” img”>
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© Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsYou probably won’t see Matthew Stafford and Ndamukong Suh holding hands around a campfire while singing “Kumbaya” any time soon, if ever. It was wildly evident there’s a fracture of some sort in the relationship, one that might be rooted in their time spent together with the Detroit Lions from 2010 through 2014. On Sunday, as the two met in the NFL divisional round in a matchup of their new teams — the Los Angeles Rams visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — things nearly got out of hand when the two became reacquainted in the backfield.
Suh took down Stafford for what looked to be a standard pressure and QB hit but was then flagged for taunting, after pointing at the Rams quarterback while yelling at him in what looked more like a threat than a taunt. And as it turns out, it was likely exactly that, as Suh was then heard on the official’s hot mic accusing Stafford of playing dirty on the takedown.
“You see him kick me?!” Suh yelled.
No penalty was levied against Stafford, and the 15-yard infraction on Suh awarded the Rams a first down that eventually led to a touchdown pass from Stafford to tight end Kendall Blanton to give Los Angeles a 10-point lead.
<iframe id=”twitter-widget-0″ class=”” title=”Twitter Tweet” src=”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=VoiceOfTheStar&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1485351229215682563&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbssports.com%2Fnfl%2Fnews%2Fmatthew-stafford-unsure-why-ndamukong-suh-dislikes-him-wife-kelly-says-whatever-it-doesnt-matter%2F&sessionId=508ca8eb15a6a41fa67d4770002fadaaaf650c82&siteScreenName=cbssports&theme=light&widgetsVersion=75b3351%3A1642573356397&width=550px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen” data-tweet-id=”1485351229215682563″ data-mce-fragment=”1″></iframe>Kelly, wife of Matthew Stafford, spoke recently to address what happened at Raymond James Stadium — noting her confusion as to why Suh has an issue with her husband, and she says this isn’t new to 2022.
<iframe id=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_1″ tabindex=”0″ title=”3rd party ad content” role=”region” name=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_1″ width=”300″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” aria-label=”Advertisement” data-google-container-id=”2″ data-load-complete=”true” data-mce-fragment=”1″></iframe>“Not really sure why Suh doesn’t like Matthew, but Suh doesn’t like Matthew,” she said on her podcast ‘The Morning After with Kelly Stafford,’ via The Detroit Free Press. “And it has become this weird dynamic in the past couple years — like Suh will come out in the media and stay stuff. Whatever, it doesn’t even matter. It doesn’t phase Matthew, it is what it is.
“… I see Suh in his face … I look at the replay in the suite, I realize it’s Suh and I’m like, ‘Huh, this is interesting.’ And he’s in Matthew’s face saying, ‘I’m gonna [expletive] you up, I’m gonna [expletive] you up.’
“Those were his words. And to be honest, if I was Matthew, I’d be like ‘I’m [expletive] terrified because you are a monster and you could really do some harm.'”
Stafford didn’t appear shaken in the least, however, and went on to battle through some late-game pressure and mistakes to land the death blow and send Suh and the Buccaneers packing in spectacular fashion. After tying the contest and threatening overtime to potentially force the Rams into one of the most historic meltdowns in postseason history, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles called a Cover 0 blitz at Stafford, who answered with a 44-yard bomb to Cooper Kupp to set up kicker Matt Gay for the game-winning field goal against his former team.
And as the Rams quarterback now readies for his first NFC Championship appearance, it’s unlikely he’s still thinking about Suh, but his wife can’t shake what happened in the divisional round.
“Obviously, when I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh, eff you Suh. Like what is wrong, relax dude, it’s football.’ And I have no idea what just triggered that. So then I asked Matthew and he was like, ‘Honestly, I don’t really know what happened. I didn’t really know who tackled me. But I remember getting put to the ground and someone on me and got him off me to try to get to the next play, and then Suh was in my face telling me he was going to [expletive] me up.’
<iframe id=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_3″ tabindex=”0″ title=”3rd party ad content” role=”region” name=”google_ads_iframe_/8264/aw-cbssports/nfl/media/stories_3″ width=”300″ height=”250″ frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” aria-label=”Advertisement” data-google-container-id=”5″ data-load-complete=”true” data-mce-fragment=”1″></iframe>“And I was like, ‘What? I don’t understand.’ He’s like, ‘Who’s gonna understand it, whatever, it doesn’t matter.'”
In the end, the world may never know what the tension stems from. And while Stafford’s wife might want some clarity on it all, her husband could not care less about anything other than trying to keep the San Francisco 49ers from defeating the Rams for a third time this season — with a ticket to Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on the line.
I recovered the advanced editor….
Good job. It’s all completely new. Lots of new additions.
Yeah. Well, it’s really great all these changes going on here, and all, and nobody consulted us because this isn’t an anarcho-syndicalist commune, or anything.
Just a bunch of dictatorial changes perpetuating the social and economic differences in our society.
