One game into his Los Angeles Rams career, it looks like, yes, Matthew Stafford brings much more to the table than Jared Goff.
The longtime Detroit Lions starter made a successful debut at SoFi Stadium on Sunday with a 34-14 win over the Chicago Bears. Stafford finished the game 20-for-26 with 321 passing yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Rams, now two seasons removed from their Super Bowl loss under head coach Sean McVay, bet big on Stafford being the quarterback to take them over the top, acquiring him in exchange for Goff and two first-round picks this offseason.
Freed of his woeful supporting cast in Detroit, Stafford didn’t take long to find the end zone in his first start with the Rams. He uncorked a 67-yard touchdown to Van Jefferson (who somehow went untouched after coming down with the pass) in his first drive. The Rams wouldn’t trail for the rest of the game.
Stafford got his second touchdown pass on a bomb to Cooper Kupp, whose existence the Bears defense had apparently forgotten about.
Kupp led all receivers in the game with seven receptions and 108 receiving yards on 10 targets.
The Bears, meanwhile, seemed to be wrestling more with their ongoing quarterback controversy than the opponent in front of them.
The choice between NFL veteran Andy Dalton and 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields was one of the NFL’s biggest quarterback controversies this offseason, and it has now reached the regular season.
As expected, Bears head coach Matt Nagy went with the seemingly more dependable Dalton to start against the Rams, but still tried to work Fields in at times on offense. Dalton didn’t exactly inspire confidence with an interception in the end zone on the Bears’ first drive.
Dalton would finish 27-for-38 for 206 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. He wasn’t the disaster some of his critics might have been expecting, but it makes you wonder why the team is playing him over its quarterback of the future.
Fields, meanwhile, was at least more exciting. Nagy brought him in for intermittent snaps and saw him go 2-for-2 for 10 yards plus his first career touchdown run. The Bears were at least stronger on the ground with David Montgomery posting 108 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Dalton-Fields debate isn’t going away, and it’s hard to see what the Bears are getting out of Dalton beyond slightly stronger short-term job security for Nagy.
