𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Matthew Stafford entered this game having a season nobody quite saw coming in his 17th year at age 37, with a league-high 40 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He was fresh off arguably his best performance of any game, when he torched an elite Seattle Seahawks defense for 457 yards, five touchdowns and no turnovers.

And then Monday night happened. In prime time, Stafford fell back into some of his old habits of forcing throws and trying to arm his way to success, and it wasn’t working in a road environment with a collection of pass catchers that missed Davante Adams. Stafford threw three interceptions, including a pick six to Jessie Bates III, in which he overthrew a crossing route and right into the arms of a patrolling centerfielder.

Stafford was also the reason the Rams got back into this game after Jared Verse blocked and returned a field goal for a score. He threw a gorgeous deep-ball touchdown to Puka Nacua that was negated by a DJ Humphries holding penalty. But then he followed it up with surgical command before he hit Nacua on a screen pass to tie the score.

But when he had a chance to hit Xavier Smith on a deep post to set up a tying score, he left it just a little too far in front. And then he nearly had Nacua in the same spot but Nacua couldn’t quite come up with the grab along the sideline.

He finished 22 of 38 for 269 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 64.5 rating — his worst rating in a game this season. His three-interception performance in a loss on national TV is a tough statement in a race with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for the Most Valuable Player award.