During his first 15 NFL seasons, Matthew Stafford’s teams experienced scheduled off weeks at various junctures.
Three times they arrived as early as Week 5; once as late as Week 10.
With the Rams 1-4 after an Oct. 6 defeat to the Green Bay Packers, their star quarterback was asked if their Week 6 time off was coming at a good time.
“I don’t know,” Stafford said. “We’ll see.”
That’s a perfect mantra to accompany the Rams through their remaining 12 games.
On Sunday, when they play the Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium, we’ll see if coach Sean McVay devised a workable plan to once again turn around a team on the brink of falling out of the playoff race.
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We’ll see if receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and offensive linemen Steve Avila and Joe Noteboom are ready to return from injuries that left the Rams shorthanded against the Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and the Packers.
We’ll see if defensive coordinator Chris Shula made scheme and personnel adjustments that will elevate the Rams from their statistical position at or near the bottom of the league.
One thing is certain: The Rams cannot expect Stafford to produce miracle comebacks every week.
Sure, he did it for the 36th time in victory over the 49ers at SoFi Stadium.
McVay, Rams and fans no doubt anticipated a repeat when Stafford engineered a fourth-quarter touchdown drive against the Packers that pulled the Rams within five points. Stafford got the ball back with less than three minutes left and had the Rams on the move but his fourth-down pass in Packers territory fell incomplete.
Stafford, 36, has persevered despite a still-patchwork offensive line and the injury-related absence of star talent at receiver.
During the offseason, the Rams invested a combined $66 million in interior linemen Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson. They tendered left tackle Alaric Jackson for nearly $5 million.
Stafford, however, has yet to take a game snap behind the projected starting offensive line.
Alaric Jackson was suspended for two games for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. Avila and the versatile Noteboom went down in the season opener, and Jonah Jackson suffered a similar fate in Week 2.
Stafford played the last four games behind a line that featured rookie center Beaux Limmer, and the last three with left guard Logan Bruss, a 2022 draft pick, playing for the first time.
The Packers hit Stafford 10 times and sacked him three times, leaving him with a sore back.
Despite the line shuffle, running back Kyren Williams is scoring touchdowns. And after failing in their first opportunity against the Packers, the Rams showed improved touchdown production from inside the 20-yard line.
Receivers Demarcus Robinson, Tutu Atwell, rookie Jordan Whittington and tight end Colby Parkinson all have had their moments but they are complementary players in a receiving corps that requires Kupp and Nacua.
The young defensive front has made an impact in the early post-Aaron Donald era, but trading inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV, and thinking that Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom could fill the void, remains questionable.
The secondary is shaky, though Shula had to be encouraged by Jaylen McCollough’s interception return for a touchdown against the Packers.
McVay sat former cornerback Tre’Davious White against the Packers. Although the former All-Pro has struggled, expecting a player coming off Achilles surgery to be his former self at the start of the season was probably asking too much.
Cornerback Darious Williams played for the first time this season against the Packers, and safety John Johnson III is eligible to return from injured reserve after the game against the Raiders.
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Special teams have mostly played well. Rookie kicker Joshua Karty was perfect until he missed a field-goal attempt against the Bears and an extra-point attempt against the Packers.
Last season, the Rams lost to the Packers in Week 9 and fell to 3-6 before they returned from an off week. Stafford then earned Pro Bowl recognition by leading the Rams to the playoffs.
Of the Rams’ remaining opponents, only the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles have winning records through action Sunday.
Can McVay and Stafford lead the Rams on another run to the playoffs?
We’ll see.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
