REPORT: Rams Get Solid Performance From Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Seahawks

The Los Angeles Rams sat many starters on Sunday. This allowed veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo a chance to prove himself.

Jan 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (11) throws for a reception at SoFi Stadium as the Seattle Seahawks face off versus Los Angeles Rams Week 18 matchup. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images / William Navarro-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Rams decided to sit multiple players in their regular season finale against the Seattle Seahawks. One of those players was quarterback Matthew Stafford, who the Rams sat in prepartion for the playoffs.

Sitting Stafford gave veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo a chance to see the field. Michael Baca of NFL.com analyzed the Rams' loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.

He noted Garoppolo's productive game in his first start of the season.

"By resting a majority of their starters for Week 18, the Rams seemingly forwent the NFC's No. 3 seed, but they did get a good look at Jimmy Garoppolo before the playoffs and the veteran QB nearly led Los Angeles to win in the process," Baca said.

"Garoppolo led scoring drives on six of 10 possessions to keep the Rams in contention on Sunday,  finishing 27-of-41 passing for 334 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for a 97.0 passer rating. The 33-year-old had a chance to lead a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, but an incompletion on fourth down in the red zone ultimately sealed the fate of the game.

"Considering this was his first game action since Week 8 of the 2023 season and with Rams backups at his side, Garoppolo's performance was better than expected. He did need to seemingly shake off some rust, however, with a bad interception in the first half being the most glaring of his miscues, but as the game went on,  Garoppolo got better. Perhaps the Rams will feel better going into the playoffs knowing their backup got some useful experience beforehand. 

The Rams have one of the youngest teams in the postseason. After starting his first game in a long time, with the Rams set to face the Minnesota Vikings at home next weekend in the first round of the playoffs, Garoppolo shared a message for his teammates.

“Just get ready," Garoppolo said. "The playoffs are a different beast. It was a dog fight out there today, but these playoff games are all dog fights. I’ve been in a couple of them myself. I try to give these guys advice or any little thing like that. We have a good team with a good mindset. They'll take care of a lot of things.”

While Stafford is unquestionably the leader of the Rams' offense, Garoppolo has plenty of playoff experience under his belt. This should be a valuable asset for the Rams' locker room as they push for what they hope will be a deep postseason run.

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