Matthew Stafford led 31 fourth-quarter comebacks while he was with the Detroit Lions. On Sunday night, he almost added another comeback against them.
“There was a lot of adversity that we had to overcome,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We gave ourselves a chance, but we just fell short.”
Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, Stafford, who spent 12 seasons with Detroit, helped the Los Angeles Rams come back from a 17-3 deficit. His 9-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp gave the Rams a 20-17 lead with 4:35 remaining, but the Lions won 26-20 in overtime.
After the Rams took the lead, the defense forced Jared Goff and the Lions to go three-and-out, giving Stafford the ball back at the 11-yard line with 4:10 left.
Three plays later, he completed a 6-yard pass to Demarcus Robinson on third-and-5 to keep the drive alive. The Lions had to use timeouts, and the Rams were close to securing a Week 1 win.
However, Stafford’s offensive line was struggling with injuries. Two holding penalties on backup tackle A.J. Arcuri hurt the Rams in the red zone, including one that took a touchdown away.
And on second-and-12 with 2:31 left, a false start by Warren McClendon Jr., the other backup tackle, pushed the Rams back 5 yards as they tried to finish the game.
After the false start, Robinson ran an end-around for 7 yards, making it third-and-10 from the 22 with 2:26 remaining, but Stafford just missed Kupp on what would have been a crucial first down.
“There were just some unfortunate things that happened,” Stafford said.
By the end of the game, the Rams were missing three starting offensive linemen and No. 2 wide receiver Puka Nacua, who had left with a knee injury.
