Why Rams’ Matthew Stafford was ‘happy to play worse’ in new playoff low vs. Bears

Well, that was not the game we were expecting to watch. Many expected the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams’ Divisional Round game to be a barn-burner. However, it seems like the cold had snuffed out the firepower of both teams’ offenses in the game. The Rams were able to barely squeak by the Bears on a game-winning field goal in overtime, but it wasn’t pretty.

The Rams’ offense struggled mightily during the game, due in part to Matthew Stafford’s struggles. The star quarterback completed only 20 of his 42 passing attempts for 258 yards. The league leader in touchdowns thrown in the regular season, Stafford did not throw a passing touchdown in the game. That was only the second time in his playoff career that Stafford didn’t throw a touchdown, and the first time in his Rams postseason career that he didn’t throw multiple passing TDs.

Despite his dreadful performance, the Rams still eked out a win. After the game, Stafford said that winning ugly feels a lot better than losing pretty, like he did last season.

“I definitely didn’t get into a great rhythm today,” Stafford said, per Sarah Barshop of TSN. “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.”

Last season, the Rams faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round. Stafford was electric in the contest, completing 26 of his 44 attempts for 324 yards and two touchdowns, However, that effort in the snowy grounds of Philadelphia wasn’t enough, as Saquon Barkley ran over LA’s defense en route to a win.

This time around, Stafford got a happy ending despite his sub-par game. The Rams will now take on the Seattle Seahawks on the road for the right to represent the NFC in the postseason.

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