Matthew Stafford isn’t ready to sound the alarm after the Los Angeles Rams’ 1-3 start. As disappointing as their record is, he’s treating each game the same and approaching it like he would any other matchup.
That’s the case this weekend with the Rams hosting the 2-2 Green Bay Packers, who are also coming off a loss in Week 4. Stafford was asked if he feels any added motivation to win because of the Rams’ poor record and he said definitively that no one should be extra motivated to win any game over another.
“There better not be any more motivation in one week or the other,” he said. “I feel like for the most part, people understand that in this business. It’s time to go no matter what your record is. If we were sitting here at 4-0, I surely wouldn’t be going, ‘Well, it doesn’t really matter this week.’ We’re professional athletes. We’re guys that understand the importance of each game. We do everything we possibly can Monday to Saturday to get ourselves ready to go win those games. I know it’s frustrating for us when it doesn’t happen because there is a whole lot of work and effort that goes into it.”
Stafford may not feel extra motivation to win this week but he certainly knows the implications of the Rams losing four of their first five games. If the Rams lost to the Packers on Sunday, they’ll be 1-4 and in danger of suffering a season similar to the one they endured in 2022.
That doesn’t mean the team is going to prepare extra hard or focus more closely the details, but there needs to be a heightened sense of urgency before it gets too late.