It has not been a good day for the Rams in their game against the Cowboys, and things have gone from bad to worse with an injury to their starting quarterback.
Matthew Stafford hurt his thumb in the final seconds of the first half against Dallas. He started the second half, but eventually exited the game.
Brett Rypien took over under center for the Rams, who eventually lost 43-20.
Stafford and the Rams fell behind quickly against the Cowboys, as Dallas built a 17-3 lead after the first quarter and took a 33-9 lead into the intermission. At the time of his exit, Stafford was 13 for 22 with 162 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
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Here are the latest news and updates on Stafford:
Matthew Stafford injury update
Stafford hurt his thumb with four seconds left in the first half. His hand connected with the helmet of Cowboys lineman Mazi Smith.
No announcement of anything regarding Stafford, but thumb issue apparently knocked him out, at least temporarily. He just came back to the bench with right hand taped.
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) October 29, 2023
Despite the injury, Stafford came out and led the Rams on their opening drive in the second half, which ended in a touchdown catch for Ben Skowronek. Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay got creative, electing to go for the two-point conversion and pulled out the Philly Special out of his bag of tricks, as wideout Tutu Atwell found Stafford for the two points.
Matthew Stafford. Athlete.
— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
📺: #LARvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/14XDNuZ6Zu
After that drive, Stafford did not come out with the offense when the Rams re-gained possession. Instead it was Rypien who took over as the signal caller. Stafford was seen on the sidelines with his helmet on and tape around the right thumb, but Rypien stayed in the game as the Rams said Stafford was questionable to return.
#Rams QB Matthew Stafford appeared to injure his thumb on his throwing hand during this play.
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 29, 2023
pic.twitter.com/CLzhFmTyYJ
McVay said after the game he thinks that Stafford hurt it on the two-point play, and that he does "not know what the totality of [the injury] is."
Here is the full exchange for clarity. Sean McVay says he believes injury happened on 2PT catch, does acknowledge Stafford had banged thumb earlier. Also sounds as though they will do deeper testing possibly such as MRI (dash indicates inaudible question) https://t.co/dlm53lSbgA pic.twitter.com/12AZPUlslR
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 29, 2023
How long is Matthew Stafford out?
On Monday, McVay had a bit more information on Stafford's injury, however, the quarterback will undergo further testing this week, especially to see how well he can grip the ball.
The bad news was that the Rams head coach did not rule out the possibility of Stafford being placed on injured reserve, which would keep him sidelined for a minimum of four weeks.
consideration for the short term, but Rams also are not ruling out injured reserve at this point as they are still gathering information that helps discern a larger timeline for Stafford.
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 30, 2023
Rams QB depth chart
The Rams have been carrying two quarterbacks for a majority of this season. Rypien has been the backup for Stafford in every game so far.
Rypien is in his first season with the organization. The 27-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Broncos, backing up Russell Wilson in 2022. He has eight appearances in his short career.
Rookie QB Stetson Bennett, who was drafted in the fourth round in the 2023 draft, is currently on the reserve/NFI list and has no timeline for a return.
| Rank | QB |
| No. 1 | Matthew Stafford |
| No. 2 | Brett Rypien |
