Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford Playing At Elite Level; Here's Why

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been playing some of the best football of his career over the past few weeks.

The Los Angeles Rams have vaulted themselves back into playoff contention by winning three of four games since their bye week, and a large part of that success has been the play of quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Over the past four games, Stafford has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 992 yards, 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions. After throwing eight touchdowns to seven interceptions to start the season, Stafford is looking more like the quarterback who led the Rams to a Super Bowl just two years ago than a player in his twilight.

Amidst Stafford's recent hot streak, Rams coach Sean McVay made sure to give the veteran signal-caller the respect he truly deserves.

Stafford makes a throw during Sunday's road game against the Baltimore Ravens / © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

"Yeah, he's played like Matthew," McVay told reporters Monday. "He's a great player and you can see he's feeling healthy. I think he's doing a great job distributing the football. Guys are competing hard around him and for him and he has got great command of what he's seeing. 

"These have definitely been two of the upper echelon defenses. I think he's played really well when you look at the fourth quarter in Seattle and then the last 12 quarters when you combine Arizona, Cleveland and yesterday against Baltimore. He's given us a chance to play really well on the offensive side of the football and when he's doing that good things happen."

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The Rams were left for dead after a 3-6 start to the season, but with Stafford's resurgence and a manageable schedule to close the year, there is now a very realistic path to the playoffs.

This turn of events isn't just great for the Rams, but for Stafford personally as well. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback has dealt with injuries and retirement rumors recently, but he's showing that he still has plenty left in the tank.