Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 24, Los Angeles Rams - 34
Q. Matthew, I know you've taken a lot of shots downfield in your time. But what does that feeling feel like when the ball's in the air and you can kind of feel the crowd swell up under that pass?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: It's great. I wish it would have swelled up on the first two. Helped me out. I left a couple short to DJack today.
But I was happy for him. He did a great job, getting behind the defense a couple times today. You know, I missed him on a couple. I was glad to make one of them count. Instead of going three and out right there, get a long touchdown and putting a little wind in the sail.
Q. (Question concerning the talent on the LA Rams.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, it's been great. We do. We have so many talented guys. I think Sean does a great job of, you know, just calling plays and letting us go out there and play and, you know, let me get through progressions.
And our guys are doing what they're supposed to do. And I'm trying to get it to them as best I can. I think we had a lot of guys touch the ball today and make plays. So that's when we're at our best.
I keep saying it but, you know, when we make defenses defend the entire field and everybody on our roster, that's going to be good for us.
Q. You guys got people in early, whether it was tight, wide. Is that part of the game plan in the first couple series?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: I think we just kind of had plays that -- you know, it wasn't a specific matchup or anything like that.
You know, I think we were going out there and calling plays. You know, DeSean did a great job of designing. We try and go out there and execute them.
You know, he did a great job after the catch a few times. Had a big third down conversion over the middle, as well.
So, you know, he's an unsung guy for us. He does everything for us and a really talented player. I'm glad he had a big day.
Q. You mentioned big games, big stages. With the matchup that it was today, did this feel like a really big one to you?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, every time we go out there it's a big one. We work really hard. You know, we practice, we work hard, we watch tape, we do all those things and we get one chance a week to execute and make those plays.
And no doubt, Tampa is a really good football team. You know, they're Super Bowl champs. Tom Brady, the defense, all of it. It was a big challenge for us.
Nice to go out there and play our game. We went out there and executed. Didn't start as fast as we wanted to, but did a nice job coming back when we needed to.
Q. Aaron Donald told us that he hugged you and told us he loves you. Can you comment on the effect that you have on this team?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: It's a whole lot better than chasing me. Those hugs are a whole lot better than the old ones. I'm just trying to be myself. I'm lucky to be in a locker room with guys like that.
There's so many different guys on our team that are, you know, great NFL players, great people. You know, I was the new guy coming in and they embraced me, which was awesome.
And I'm just trying to be myself every single day, bring my best every single day and see where that takes us.
Q. (Question concerning Cooper Kupp's continued success.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Cooper is a talented guy. You know, some of those plays were great play calls by Sean. A couple checks here and there where we got to some stuff where he was going to be open and he did a great job.
He'll be the first guy to tell you, When everyone else around him is playing great, it helps me. DeSean had a great game, Higbee had a good game. Woody made a great catch on third down.
I mean, when we get that going, it's tough to zero in on one guy. And, you know, Cooper just got his opportunities and made the most of them.
Q. Matthew, how was the contribution from Sony?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, Sony was great. For a guy that's still -- I consider him somewhat new to the team. No offseason with us, you know, to step in there and play like today, it was awesome.
And our guys upfront, you know, it starts and ends with them. You know, our guys can go try and get open and I can try and throw the ball, but if I'm not standing upright back there, we got no chance.
And they did a hell of a job today against a really good front, an aggressive coordinator that wants to send pressures. They did a great job of picking them up and giving me time to kind of survey the field and get the ball to the right guy.
So every week we talk about being the most physical team and that starts with those guys. You know, and I think they did it again today.
Q. (Question concerning the team's potential and Matthew Stafford's challenge to problem solving.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think each team we go up against presents a new challenge for us every single week. And we have to go out there and try to find a way to solve that problem and figure out the best way to score points.
Some weeks -- like, this week, it's going to be throwing the ball a lot more than we run it. You know, other weeks it will be vice versa; maybe down the field, short passes.
But I think Sean does a great job of giving us a game plan that really keeps the defense on their toes.
I mean, we threw the ball underneath today, we threw screens, we threw it over the top, we ran the ball, we play actioned, we did a little bit of everything.
So when he's got us going like that, you know, it's fun to go out there and execute them.
Q. (Question concerning the Arizona Cardinals.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: No, they'll get your attention quick. You know, it's a really good football team. I played Arizona a bunch in my past when I was in Detroit. I'm a little bit familiar with them.
High-powered offense, game changing players on defense, added JJ Watt to the mix. They're a really talented group. It will be another big challenge for us. But the only thing we can do is prepare for the next one and get a win.
Q. Your touchdown to DeSean, did you see DeSean running up the --
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, at some point, I saw him. He was going crazy. Which was awesome. It was a lot of fun to play.
We kind of talked about earlier in the week, you know, possibly getting a chance to, you know, get DJack down the field on that one. I'm glad he went to it and then we were able to execute.
Q. (Question concerning facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)
MATTHEW STAFFORD: It wasn't easy. They're a talented team. You know, I think our guys did a great job of getting open, you know, getting behind them.
You know, a couple times -- Higbee did a great job scoring on the screen. You know, Cooper did a nice job twice kind of catching it and getting it in.
So, you know, he's an aggressive defensive coordinator. They're an aggressive defense. We had some opportunities in some tight coverage and our guys won those matchups, which was huge for us.
Q. I know you've played with some great players in your years with Detroit. Does it seem like you're playing with so many at the same time that can do so many different things? Is that true, and if so, what's it like to be in that position?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, I don't want to rehash all the years I was there, to be honest with you. But I just know that I feel grateful to step in the huddle with the guys that I have; both the guys upfront that are playing at the level that they're playing at right now and the guys around me in the skilled positions.
I'm enjoying every minute of it and trying to make the most of it and seeing where it will take us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports