X-rays come back negative on Matthew Stafford's injured finger after Rams beat Panthers
Matthew Stafford and the Rams got good news about his injured finger
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1 min read
Despite injuring his finger in the first half of Saturday's 34-31 wild-card win, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford led a pair of decisive touchdown drives against the Carolina Panthers. The MVP candidate did not miss a snap, and refused to leave the game with his team's season hanging in the balance.
X-rays on Stafford's finger were negative and there was no dislocation after the hit, which appeared to happen after crunching his hand on Panthers defensive end D.J. Wonnum's arm, NFL Media reports. Given the prognosis, it's unlikely Stafford will miss any time with the Rams' divisional round playoff opponent looming next weekend.
"I got a finger bent back," Stafford said after the game. "They saw it on the TV, on the sideline or whatever. I didn't, obviously, know exactly what had happened. It wasn't pleasant. It wasn't great. We'll see what it is. Was obviously able to finish the game and throw it decent. You know, once the ball's snapped, the adrenaline's pretty good. So we'll hopefully, you know, just keep it going,"
After the injury, Stafford misfired on 10 of his next 12 pass attempts including an interception. He rebounded in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown drives, capped by scoring tosses to Kyren Williams and Colby Parkinson. The 19-yard completion to Parkinson gave the Rams a 34-31 lead with 38 seconds to play, capping a seven-play, 71-yard drive after the Panthers just regained the advantage.
Stafford finished with 304 yards passing, three touchdowns and the lone turnover as the Rams moved on to the divisional round of the postseason.
"I have been in that spot a lot in my life — and I love that spot," Stafford said. "I would rather be me having to go out there with our offense and do it then watch from the sideline. You can make it stressful or you can make it calm and collected, and think the latter is what we were today."
Entering the playoffs, Stafford's 4,707 yards passing led the NFL and represented the fourth-highest total of his career. His 46 touchdown passes were five more than his previous career-best of 41 set during the 2011 and 2021 seasons. Stafford's quarterback rating of 109.2 eclipses his previous high of 106.0 (2019 with Detroit).
