The Rams were losing 20-10 to the Eagles in the fourth quarter on Sunday, but anyone who thought the game was over hasn’t been watching Matthew Stafford over the years.
Stafford engineered a 10-play, 98-yard touchdown drive and followed that with a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive, and the Rams beat the Eagles 24-20. It was the 40th fourth-quarter comeback of Stafford’s career, and he said after the game that he and his teammates never doubted that they could pull it out.
“If you don’t have belief, then what are we doing? That’s what we put all this work in for,” Stafford said. “We put all the work in Monday through Saturday so that when those instances come up on Sunday, we believe in each other. We understand, this guy has put the work in to do what we do. Not every game is going to go exactly how you want it, sometimes you’re going to have to find ways to win football games and that’s what we did today. I know I believe in everybody in that huddle.”
The only other players in NFL history with 40 fourth-quarter comebacks are Tom Brady with 46, Peyton Manning with 43 and Ben Roethlisberger with 41. Stafford had 31 fourth-quarter comebacks with the Lions, and Sunday was his ninth with the Rams.
Stafford said those are special moments to share with his teammates.
“We’d love to go out there and score every time we touch the ball and stop them three-and-out, and that’s just not the case in the NFL,” Stafford said. “But coming together as a team, finding a way to figure it out and get a win . . . Just proud of our group, proud of our team.”