Matthew Stafford's 'TNF' performance may force Rams to stay course

Matthew Stafford had his best game of the season in the Rams' 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. The win also allowed the 36-year-old Stafford to prove a point to his detractors. 

After throwing only three touchdown passes through six games entering the week, Stafford tossed four against the Vikings and did it while being extremely efficient in the process. Stafford completed 25-of-35 passes, completing 73.5% of his attempts for 279 yards in the game. The 279 yards through the air were the second-most he has thrown in a game this season — his highest yardage total came in Los Angeles' season-opening loss to the Lions in Detroit.  

This game came on the heels of discussion from media and fans about the Rams potentially trading Cooper Kupp and looking more to the future than worrying about the present. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio even floated the idea that Los Angeles should consider trading Stafford, too. 

But playing in a wide-open NFC West, Stafford silenced any talk of tanking the season, having helped put the Rams right back in the hunt at 3-4 — only one game behind the Seattle Seahawks for the division lead. 

Stafford's performance on "Thursday Night Football"demonstrated a quarterback who can still put the team on his back if necessary, not one who can only win by being simply a game manager. 

Questions about what Stafford had left in the tank started to erupt soon after he led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI win in his first season. He followed that magical year with a rough 2022 campaign. 

In 2021, that Super Bowl season, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards with 41 touchdown passes. But in 2022, he only managed 2,087 yards and 10 touchdown passes with eight interceptions in just nine games. 

NFL analyst Michael Lombardi even publicly questioned if Stafford was washed up. 

"Matthew Stafford might be totally washed," said Lombardi on the "Pat McAfee Show" in July 2023 Can we really trust the Rams this year if they don’t trust their own quarterback? It turns out the Rams really did try to give up on Stafford before the start of the new league year."

The way Stafford played against the Vikings made it clear that he is far from washed up. And it's now possible Stafford could continue to silence his doubters if he can keep the Rams in contention throughout the season. 

Stafford may have the future of the Rams franchise in his hands (or arm, to be exact). If Stafford can play well and win, he will force Los Angeles to stay the course with this group, at least for the rest of this season.