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During Thursday’s joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford scrambled to his left and threw a low pass near the goal line that was tipped twice.
“Stop!” coach Sean McVay said he thought to himself when he saw Stafford pursue the airborne loose ball.
McVay no doubt harked to last season at Dallas, when Stafford’s right thumb hit the turf after catching a two-point conversion pass in the end zone, aggravating an injury he suffered earlier in the game.
“Stop!” McVay thought. “Stop!”
But Stafford would not be denied.
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The 16th-year pro grabbed the ball and stumbled into the end zone to complete the highlight play of the day.
“It was sitting on some dude’s helmet, and I was like, ‘All right, I’ll take it and try to sneak in,’” Stafford said. “I guess it worked. I don’t know: probably would have got tattooed to be honest with you.”
The Rams need Stafford, 36, to be ready for their Sept. 8 opener at Detroit. He is the key player for a team attempting to improve upon last season’s 10-7 record and playoff appearance.
There was no tackling during the practice in Oxnard, but what was Stafford thinking?
“How just absolutely old I looked,” he said, chuckling. “I was asking the [Cowboys defensive backs] like, ‘Man how bad did that look?’ I was like … they can’t touch me or whatever, and they were just laughin’ at me. I’d have laughed at me too, but shoot, I guess it worked.”
Stafford’s catch stood out on a day the offense rebounded from its rough performance four days earlier against the Chargers.
In that practice, the Chargers took advantage of an injury-depleted offensive line and tipped multiple passes, intercepting several and batting down others.
Rams running back Kyren Williams (23) tries to push through a group of Cowboys defenders during their joint practice in Oxnard. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/rams-look-better-joint-practice-021242642.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-08-09 02:12:42
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