NFL News: Rams QB Matthew Stafford Completes Career Turnaround With Super Bowl Ring

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has proven that he can lead a team to a Super Bowl victory after his side took down the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, at Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, February 13.

The Rams front office decided to take a massive gamble on Stafford when they traded longtime quarterback Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick and their 2022 and 2023 first-rounders to the Detroit Lions in March of 2021--a move that was heavily panned by fans and critics.

After spending 11 seasons with the Lions, Stafford had only experienced four winning seasons and made the playoffs thrice, but never made it past the Wild Card round.

Detroit had a golden opportunity to go after the Vince Lombardi trophy with the partnership of Stafford and Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin “Megatron” Johnson leading the way but elected from making the team more competitive by making any impactful moves to push their ceiling.

Johnson retired from the sport in 2015 due to health concerns and the Lions’ lack of success, leaving Stafford alone to carry the team in his absence.

In Stafford’s last playoff run back in the 2016-17 season, his receiving corps was anchored by Golden Tate and a 35-year-old Anquan Boldin with the Lions being quickly snuffed out by Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round.

Despite his lack of success in Detroit, their fans recognized what he has done for the franchise and were rooting for him ahead of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI matchup with the Bengals.

The move to Los Angeles certainly impacted Stafford’s level of play as he tied his career-highs in pass percentage (67.2 percent) and touchdowns (41) despite turning the ball over 17 times–the highest in the league this season.

The arrival of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in the middle of the season gave Stafford and the Rams an additional target down the field alongside Van Jefferson, five-year veteran Cooper Kupp and rookie Ben Skowronek.

Of his 40 pass attempts in the Super Bowl, Stafford completed 26 of them for 283 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.

Stafford and Kupp connected on the game-winning touchdown with just 1:29 left on the clock, the moment that cemented Kupp as Super Bowl LVI MVP.

Along with the Super Bowl ring, Stafford also etched his name in the history books as one of only three starting quarterbacks to win it all in their first season with a team – the other two being Tom Brady in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Trent Dilfer with the Baltimore Ravens in 2000.

Now that he has finally exorcised his demons in Detroit, Stafford will have an opportunity to go for back-to-back Super Bowl titles with the Rams as he has one more year left on his contract.