Matthew Stafford is “excited” for Rams vs 49ers NFC Game

A little over a week ago, quarterback Matthew Stafford entered a wild-card game against the Arizona Cardinals having never won in the playoffs; in all three of his appearances over 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, he lost every playoff game.

After picking up his first couple playoff wins, the 33-year-old quarterback is now facing an incredible opportunity to get his career’s first Super Bowl, and seems to be handling the pressure smoothly, once again. 

“Obviously excited about the opportunity,” Stafford said during a video conference Wednesday. “Going about it kind of as a normal week. It’s the first normal week we’ve had a little bit, obviously, playing the first playoff game on a Monday, the second one on a short week. So this one just feels like a normal week during the season, obviously a lot at stake. We know that. Playing a really good opponent that’s playing as good of football as anybody in the NFL right now. So it’ll be a big challenge for us, but we’re excited about the opportunity.”

And while Stafford has played brilliantly in the NFC Divisional Round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this rival is one that has had their number the past several years; San Francisco’s defensive line has made it tough on Stafford in especially the past two contests.

The Rams and Stafford will have to capitalize on the explosive plays when they have the chance.

“There aren’t a ton of varied looks,” said the signal caller. “They do a great job stunting their defensive line and moving guys after the snap. But as far as what you see as the quarterback before the snap, there are some intricacies, but a lot of it is pretty straightforward. They are going to let their guys go out there and play fast. That’s their M-O. Their guys attack up front. They attack on the back end. (They) do a great job against the run and have done a great job this season keeping the pass game in front of them as well. So it’s about execution for us, guys doing the right thing play in and play out, and when we’re getting the opportunities to hit big plays, we have to hit them.”