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Sara Barshop
Los Angeles–Sean McVay has seen video clip Which went viral.
in a game against New Orleans Saints During the 2023 season, quarterback Matthew Stafford Stood in one spot to listen to McVay’s playcall. And kept listening. And listening.
“I understand,” Stafford said, pointing to his head coach on the sideline. “I understand. I understand. Please. Stop. Yes. Please stop. Oh God, he’s still going. He’s still going.”
“I mean, it’s unbelievable what I’m getting right now. Holy s—, boys.”
That video, while funny — “I’m also messing with him a little bit because the best thing about it is he can’t talk to me,” McVay said — also reveals what Stafford is doing before every snap. The length of the playcall, one Stafford relays from McVay to his teammates, shows how the quarterback’s mental abilities on the field give the Rams what McVay called a “real edge.”
Stafford finished the 2025 regular season as the presumptive favorite to be named the NFL’s MVP. Stafford threw for a league-leading 4,707 yards with 46 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions. His 46 touchdown passes also led the league by throwing more than 12 detroit lions quarterback Jared GoffWhich was in second place. Now, the Rams hope for a long playoff run, starting with Saturday’s road game carolina panthers ,4:30 PM ET, Fox,
And although Stafford has shown his physical abilities during the 17 seasons he played in the NFL – “This guy can put the ball anywhere,” said Pro Football Hall of Famer and former detroit lions It’s also his mental acumen that comes through, wide receiver Calvin Johnson told ESPN last year — his teammates and coaches say.
“He’s the smartest football player I’ve ever played with,” center coleman shelton Said.
It was during the Rams’ first walk-through in the spring of 2023, Mike LaFleur’s first season in Los Angeles, that the offensive coordinator saw that intelligence in Stafford.
,I’ll never forget that first day,, LaFleur said. ,[And just seeing] How fluid his walk-through was and how he was able to impact plays. Obviously it wasn’t a game plan or anything, but it was still pretty intense if you like. And so in that moment, even though I knew he was very smart, it was very eye-opening, ‘Hey, we better pay attention to this too.'”
Stafford handles McVay’s long playcall without wearing a playsheet on your wristwide receiver davante adamsPlaying in his first season with Stafford, he said that one of the most “underrated things” he learned was the quarterback’s ability to “assess and reproduce some of the calls we made without using the wristband.”
There are times like this, left guard steve avila That said, he can tell when Stafford hears the formation and the first route in the playcall and immediately knows what the play will be.
As soon as Stafford hears the call — or as he’s replaying it — he “can see it,” McVay said. This allows him to “make eye contact with his teammates and give less coaching points because you’re running up to the line of scrimmage.”
“It’s next level—what he does,” McVay said. “It’s really special… I think it’s a real edge and differentiator for us.”
during his rookie season season, rams running back Kieran Williams He was confused when Stafford asked him to look for a nickel cornerback in the game.
“He told me Nickel was coming,” Williams said. “I say, ‘Dang, how do you know that? But I applaud you because here he comes.’
“It bothers me a lot because I don’t get a chance to look at a lot of different places. I look, scan here and scan here. Oh he’s coming? Well you bet, he’s my boy. And he makes it loud and clear.”
On a lengthy playcall, Shelton said, Stafford was “telling almost everyone what to do.” This is something that’s unique, Rams tight end colby parkinson Said.
Playing in his second season with Stafford, Parkinson said that if the quarterback “sees any confused look on your face, he’ll say, ‘Hey, this is all you have in this game.'”
“And he can do that for the entire offense,” Parkinson said.
If there is any information that will help his teammates “go out there and execute,” the wide receiver puka nakua Said, “This will definitely come out of his mouth.”
“He’s very articulate when he talks,” Williams said. “If it’s for puka [Nacua] And they got to read something, it was something like, ‘Pooka, you and me, look at me. Look what I give you.”
By handling playcalls for longer periods of time, Stafford puts more pressure on himself, McVay said, “but it takes some of the stress off other guys.”
McVay said, “There may be 25 words in a playcall, but if you’re in a certain position you’re just listening to: What’s the cadence? What are the two key things that really speak to me?”
37-year-old Stafford said that he is happy to take this responsibility.
“The more I can do to help communicate and let those guys play faster and freer, and if it doesn’t slow me down or bother me, why not?” Stafford said.
Every game has “certain nuances” that must be addressed in each situation, Shelton said. Stafford would give reminders to offensive linemen in the huddle, such as, “Take a three-point stance.”
“It’s like having your position coach next to you the whole time while he’s doing everything else,” Shelton said.
McVay said he has seen Stafford use the play clock as much as he does to become an effective communicator in the game while balancing the offensive advantage with making decisions when he snaps the ball.
“That’s where he’s really special,” McVay said. “It’s one thing to be able to train it, it’s another thing to be able to take responsibility and ownership and actually accumulate the knowledge that’s built over time because of his intention.”
McVay said that while playcalls take as long now – and sometimes two before a play – they were even longer when the pair first started working together in 2021. McVay also said that he feels his “mic etiquette is better now and more considerate towards Stafford” as their time together has increased.
“The vernacular has been cut,” McVay said. “It used to be absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know how we weren’t delaying games all the time because of how long the playcalls were, but we’re getting better. They’re still pretty ridiculous.”
there are times like this During a game, Adams said, he would look at Stafford and the receiver when he realized he needed to “calm down and take a deep breath and move on to the next play.”
Adams, who described himself as “an emotional person”, said the calmness with which Stafford carries himself during games is “different, but it’s amazing.” And that mentality makes a difference for his teammates.
“He’s the nicest guy,” Adams said. “…Any time your fearless leader can go out there and make you look better than what he tells you, it’s obviously going to impress the rest of the team.”
One of those times came in Week 2. Or at least, Adams thought so. after ram win 33-19 Above tennessee titansAdams was asked what impressed him about the way Stafford played that day.
“Honestly, the most impressive thing to me watching him today was his behavior after throwing the pick,” Adams said of Stafford’s first-half interception. “I told him during the game, ‘Bro, you’re the coolest guy I’ve ever been around.’ He’s not abusing, he’s not blaming anyone [just kind of acted] As it happened in practice. Obviously there’s another side to it where you may not care enough, but you can just tell that he’s dialed in, locked in and he’s not going to let you bother with things like that.
“That kind of feeling radiates that kind of poise and confidence to the rest of the team.”
Except that what Adams missed, Stafford said afterward, smiling, was that the veteran had slammed his helmet after the game.
“Glad he wasn’t looking,” Stafford said. “But we’ll act like it didn’t happen. I was angry at myself because, I mean, that’s the one thing you can’t do, right? … But the only thing to do is keep playing. I can’t just sit there and be upset about it all day. Gotta be mad about it, gotta figure it out.”
Avila described Stafford as “a straight line” during games, though he added that there are moments on the field after a good pass or a big play “where you get to see his personality come through.”
“I never, ever, ever looked down on him,” Avila said. “And the good moments with him are good. So yeah, it’s great to see.”
Mental flexibility is “one of the hardest things and one of the biggest attributes you can have in a quarterback,” Stafford said. He said he doesn’t “actively think about being cool,” but rather, “that’s just who I am.”
“Just because I’m not screaming and yelling doesn’t mean I’m not giving it everything I’ve got,” Stafford said.
may that be peace Never as clear as it was in those moments.
Since he was drafted in 2009, Stafford has recorded 40 career wins in the fourth quarter or overtime, the most in the NFL over that span. That ranks him fourth behind Tom Brady (54), Peyton Manning (43) and Ben Roethlisberger (43) since the merger in 1970, according to ESPN Research.
Although Stafford has excelled in those moments in his career, he pointed out after a comeback victory in 2024 While it was “humbling” to be on the list with other quarterbacks, he also joked that it meant his team was losing in the fourth quarter.
,The comeback in the fourth quarter is awesome,, Stafford said last season. ,[It] This means your team can count on you in those moments. They’re not that great either [because it] This means you are in the bottom, so play better than the first three. This is strange. “Football is a fun game.”
LaFleur said that when Stafford is on the field, “you know he’s going to perform well.”
“You always had confidence in him,” said former Rams center and current offensive assistant Brian Allen. “There was nothing we couldn’t overcome.
“And there are guys who play that position, who practice plays and call out plays in the group. And I don’t want to say you don’t believe in that, but when the 9 is behind you or the 9 is under Coleman. [Shelton]No matter what the situation, there is a chance to win. So I think everyone has that confidence and Matthew has earned it because of who he is, what he does, how he thinks about things. So that’s definitely a real solid thing for our team. Just when he’s there, everything’s better.”
Stafford said she “always loves” waking up in those moments.
“I’d rather have the ball or bat than sit on the sidelines and watch someone else do it,” Stafford said. “I would like to put myself out there and if I fail, I will fail, but I would like it to be me.
“I try to be myself. I’m also thinking about a million different things. I’m trying to do everything I can to get my team the best game possible and then execute. I think it’s a good thing to at least be calm before the game.”
