Cowboys at Rams: What's Wrong with QB Matthew Stafford? Week 5 Injury Report

Matthew Stafford is a "warrior,'' says Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy as he preps for a visit to the Rams.

FRISCO - What's wrong with Matthew Stafford?

The Los Angeles Rams have not looked like the same team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy just eight months ago. ... and that is especially true of their quarterback.

Granted it's still very early in the season, but the Rams are just 2-2, coming off a 24-9 defeat at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers. ... and now the Rams prepare for a Dallas Cowboys defense in Week 5 ...

A defense that can do some of the same things the Niners can do.

A defense that is quite aware of the "open secret'' of Stafford being not completely healthy, surely as the result of his offseason elbow surgery.

After last season's magical run, it appears Stafford has come crashing down to earth.

Need an example?

Last week, Stafford completed 32 of 48 passes for 254 yards but committed two turnovers, including a fourth-quarter interception that was returned for a touchdown. To make matters worse, Stafford hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in two straight games, which is something that never happened last year. Stafford threw at least one touchdown pass in each and every game last season.

He has four touchdowns and six interceptions through the first four games.

For what it's worth, this time last season, Stafford had 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.

So why the major decline? Is the loss of Robert Woods and Odell Beckham Jr. a bigger deal than we all anticipated?

Stafford has targeted star receiver Cooper Kupp a league-high 54 times, and the reigning NFL offensive player of the year has a league-leading 42 catches for 402 yards and three touchdowns.

Is Stafford's elbow still an issue after having a procedure in the offseason? Well, yes. 

For Dallas, here's the CeeDee Lamb MRI story as he'll play while nursing a groin issue, here's the breaking news on Jason Peters, and here's the latest on Tony Pollard's illness.

Meanwhile, it's also worth noting that Dallas coach Mike McCarthy recognizes that Stafford has a history of being a "warrior'' through injuries.

"The first thing I recognize is he delivered (in a Super Bowl), and that's a credit to Matthew Stafford,'' said McCarthy, who twice a year coached the Packers against Stafford when he was with the Lions. "I always had a tremendous amount of respect for him when he was in Detroit.

"I go back to his rookie year, I think he played through a shoulder injury that was pretty significant, so you knew right away, forget about the arm talent and all that, this guy is a warrior.''

Whatever the issue is, Rams coach Sean McVay does not seem overly concerned. In fact following last week's loss, McVay said that Stafford played “excellent” in the defeat.

“If you look at some of the different things that he was dealing with, I thought he played excellent,” McVay said. “I thought he did a lot of good things. I think the margin for error was that much smaller. I thought that was a performance that he could build on.”

Stafford, 34, got off to a phenomenal start with the Rams in 2021 and starred in their postseason run to the Super Bowl title.

However, the Buffalo Bills crushed the Rams in the opener and the offense looked out of sync in victories over the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. The inconsistency continued against the 49ers.

When asked Wednesday to assess his performance through four games, Stafford found room for improvement.

“The name of the game for the quarterback is helping the team get in the end zone,” he said. “We haven’t done that enough.

“And I can do a better job of that, whether that’s executing a little bit better in the red zone or being a little bit more explosive. Definitely can be better.”

On Sunday, Stafford faces a Dallas Cowboys defense that includes elite pass rushers Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence and among others. The Cowboys have 15 sacks, the second most in the NFL.

The Rams have given up 16 sacks, including seven against the Bills and seven against the 49ers.

The task at hand will not be easy for Stafford and the Rams as they prepare to host the Cowboys for a Week 5 matchup at SoFi Stadium this Sunday. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. PT. ... and it is the job of the Dallas defense to take advantage of whatever ails the L.A. quarterback.

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