Sunday’s game against the Cardinals did not go well for the Rams, but one aspect of it went very well for Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford: He threw 41 passes and wasn’t sacked at all.
That continues an impressive trend for Stafford in his first season with the Rams. Although a quarterback’s ability to avoid the pass rush usually carries over fairly consistently from year to year, even when that quarterback changes teams, Stafford is avoiding sacks in Los Angeles far better than he ever did in Detroit.
Through four games, Stafford has been sacked on just 2.2 percent of his dropbacks. That’s by far the best rate in any season of his NFL career. In 12 seasons with the Lions, Stafford was sacked on 5.8 percent of his passes.
Playing in Sean McVay’s offense, Stafford has been rejuvenated, and he’s putting up the best numbers of his career across the board. But three sacks in four games may be the most important number of all, a stat that makes him more likely to keep putting up those big passing numbers throughout a 17-game season.