Matthew Stafford comes up short in Detroit in another chance to lead Rams to win over Lions

Updated Sep. 9, 2024 1:25 a.m. ET

Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Stafford led 31 fourth-quarter comebacks with the Detroit Lions.

On Sunday night, he nearly got one against them.

“There was a lot of adversity that we had to overcome,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “We gave ourselves a chance, but we just fell short.”

Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, Stafford, who played 12 seasons for Detroit, helped Los Angeles overcome a 17-3 deficit. His 9-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp gave the Rams a 20-17 lead with 4:35 to play, but the Lions ultimately won 26-20 in overtime.

After the Rams went ahead, the defense forced Jared Goff and the Lions into a three-and-out, giving Stafford the ball back at the 11-yard line with 4:10 to go.

Three plays later, he hit Demarcus Robinson for 6 yards on third-and-5 to keep the drive going. The Lions had to start using timeouts, and the Rams were close to clinching a Week 1 victory.

Stafford’s offensive line was riddled with injuries, though. A pair of holding penalties on backup tackle A.J. Arcuri cost the Rams in the red zone, including one that took a touchdown off the board. And on second-and-12 with 2:31 to go, a false start by Warren McClendon Jr., the other reserve tackle, pushed the Rams back 5 yards as they tried to close out the game.

Following the false start, Robinson took an end-around 7 yards, giving the Rams a third-and-10 from the 22 with 2:26 left, but Stafford narrowly missed Kupp on what would have been a massive first down.

“There were just some unfortunate things that happened,” Stafford said.

At the end of the game, the Rams were missing three starting offensive linemen — a position where they were already banged up — and No. 2 wide receiver Puka Nacua, who left with a knee injury.

Kupp did his part, catching 14 passes for 110 yards, but Stafford didn’t have Nacua when he was under pressure.

He didn’t blame the offensive line, though.

“We were already kind of thin up there, and I was proud of the guys who were playing,” he said. “They never blinked.”

After Stafford missed Kupp, the Lions extended the game. Goff drove them into position for the tying field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation, then Detroit won the coin toss in overtime.

Detroit took eight plays — seven runs and a pass to running back Jahmyr Gibbs — to win 26-20 on David Montgomery’s 1-yard rush.

“This is an opportunity for us to move forward the right way,” McVay said. “Tonight was a good indicator of the mental and physical toughness of this group.”

McVay had no interest in second-guessing one of his bigger decisions. In the second quarter, with the game tied at 3, McVay went for it on fourth-and-4 from the Lions 23 instead of trying a 40-yard field goal.

Kupp couldn’t make the catch, and the Rams lost out on points that could have made a huge difference down the stretch in another close loss to the Lions.

“That’s why we came up short the last time,” McVay said, referring to the Rams kicking three field goals in a 24-23 playoff loss to Detroit in January.

McVay didn’t have updates on his offense’s injuries and wasn’t sure if Nacua had aggravated the knee injury he dealt with in training camp.

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