Los Angeles - 20; Arizona - 37
Q. Matthew, I know there's a lot of stuff that happened. You've seen your first time struggling as a Ram. What was going on out there?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, I think I just didn't make enough plays. There was a lot of opportunities early in that game to score points and, you know, for me to make some throws. And I didn't make those.
It's, obviously, disappointing. I don't want to not make those throws. I want to make those for our guys and for our team. I just got to go back and be better.
I'm going to have another opportunity. The good thing is we play again on Thursday. So I won't have to sit and think about this one too long.
It was a good challenge going into Seattle in a couple days. A lot to learn, a lot to unpack, like you said. But I think it boils down to earlier in that game, missing some opportunities, whether it be on third down or in the red zone to get some points against a team that, frankly, was going to be scoring some points on offense.
A really talented group they have over there. And we knew it was going to have to be one of those games where kind of blow for blow, maybe at a certain point. And we put our defense in a bad spot earlier there not coming away with some points.
Q. Matthew, what kind of caused you to miss some of those throws? Was it something that was off for you today? Was it something the defense was doing?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: No, it wasn't their defense. It was just on me. I got to make those throws. It's pretty plain and simple, to be honest with you.
Q. What happened on that interception?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, Murphy did a nice job of playing it, kind of top down. You know, there's a throw out there that gets completed -- you know, I -- the one I picked to try and throw, you know, wasn't the right one.
You know, maybe a little bit more air and further towards the sideline, probably. You know, I felt like he was on top, so I was kind of trying to drive it there and get it there before he could get there.
He did a nice job of making a play. You know, that's one of those plays going, Man, I wish I would have seen it a little bit different and put it to a different spot. DeSean did a good job of getting open. I just got to find the right throw and get it to him.
Q. Later in the game, I think it was third and four, you were going to Cooper, and you guys came away with a field goal.
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, definitely. He ran a great route. I tried to hold the safety in the middle of the field. And by the time I peeked back, I felt like he was kind of stumbling out of his route a little bit. So I threw it to a spot where I'm sitting there going, Man, I wish I would have just -- like, I think right as I let it go, he probably gains his momentum again and he's hauling wide open down the field. So I got to give him opportunities.
I think of that one. I think of the early third down to Higbee down the sideline early in the game. Just give him a chance, you know? Don't leave that one where no one can catch it.
You know, there's a few in there that I sit and think about those where, you know, those are just physical errors. You don't want to live with them but you kind of have to. And you got to learn from them and figure out why they happened and just go be better from there.
Q. Did you think you scored?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: I thought I did. But, I mean, those are so bang-bang, I have no idea. You know, I was trying to get us in the end zone there, fighting for our guys.
You know, it's not easy for those guys upfront, for our guys on the outside, you know, to be running and blocking, playing basically two-minute football for a full quarter.
I got to give those guys a lot of credit. I told them in the locker room after the game I appreciated the way they played, the way they fought.
We didn't score enough points today. We didn't win the game today. We didn't play well enough. There's no question. But I'll ride with those guys any day, man.
They were blocking their asses off for me. No sacks against that outfit is pretty incredible. Especially with the position that we put them in, you know, with the guys upfront having to sit back there and pass block, you know, when everybody in the building knew we were going to throw it. I thought it was really impressive by those guys.
And same from our guys on the outside, being able to get open to make some plays there late in the game. We just got to do it earlier in the game and a little bit more consistently.
But, you know, it starts with me. I can give those guys better chances, better opportunities. And if I do that, I got no qualms about what we're going to be as a team, what we can be as an offense.
Q. When you made that throw to Cooper, the long one, through three defenders, basically dropped right in there, when you make a throw like that, does it in any way make you think, Everything is going to start falling into place?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: No. You know, this is a prove-it game. You saw it today, right? This is a prove-it game. You got to go out there and do it every time.
Just because our team won last week doesn't mean we're going to win this week. Just because we lost this week doesn't mean you're going to lose the next week. And just because I made that throw, doesn't mean I'm going to make the third and goal throw where he's open for a one-yard flat route. You know, I put it over his head.
You just got to go out there and prove it and do it every single time. And I wasn't good enough at doing that today. I think as a team, we probably weren't good enough, if you look at the whole grand scheme of things, just going out there every single play and executing it.
But, you know, the person with the biggest hand in that is probably me, you know? I can go out there and play better.
When the quarterback in this league plays well, their team has an opportunity to win the games. And, you know, I'll make sure Thursday I'm in the right place, ready to go, and looking forward to it.
Q. Arizona's defense was able to put a lot of pressure, like you said. How much urgency did you feel at the end of the third quarter going into that fourth?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: You know, I just was out there to take what they gave me. I thought our guys did a good job fighting upfront. It's a really good defensive front with blitz packages.
I think our guys did a great job of picking up stuff, really, all day. You know, and we just missed some opportunities, you know, on the perimeter. So I thought the guys upfront played well.
Q. With another division game coming up in just a couple days, how do you guys put this behind you quickly and make the adjustments you need to?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: I think it's easy when you have to turn the page so quickly. You know, the next thing I'll be looking at is -- I'll finish looking at this one and then, you know, I'll be looking at Seattle as quickly as possible.
You know, I haven't played them as much as a lot of other guys in this locker room, so I'll have some homework to do and make sure I'm up to speed, ready to go come Thursday.
Q. Will you put this one to bed tonight?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Oh, yeah.
Q. You hit Robert Woods on that long crucial third down early on in the game. But we didn't see a ton of that connection working throughout the bulk of the game until the very end. Was it just the looks you guys were getting or --
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Yeah, I think so. You know, I'm just trying to throw the ball where I think it should go, where the coverage dictates.
On that play, they were doubling Cooper and playing one hole the rest of the way. So he did a great job of slipping his defender early and, you know, running across the field. I was able to get it to him.
But I'm just trying to spread the ball around to where I feel like the ball should go. You know, I think those guys do a great job of running and expecting the ball every play.
You never know where it's going to go. I'm just happy that those guys were running and doing what they could do. I just wish I could have played better and given them more opportunities.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports