Super Bowl LVI preview: Matt Stafford redefined with the Rams

After 12 years of inconsistency as a Detroit Lion, Matt Stafford has built himself a new home and is ready for the biggest challenge of his career.

Having gone all-out on roster building over the past few years, the Los Angeles Rams are living up to the high expectations set ahead of the 2021 season.

Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald has been a machine leading their D-Line as always, while Cooper Kupp’s numbers have been nothing short of sensational on offense. The star-studded midseason signings of veteran linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr have rejuvenated a Rams side who looked to be going backwards following three straight defeats in November.

But one man who’s helped to transform the Rams attack to where it is today is quarterback Matthew Stafford. His journey to the Super Bowl is one of the more compelling stories ahead of Sunday’s game with the Cincinnati Bengals, which comes just a year on from a blockbuster trade to LA from the Detriot Lions.

LONG ROAD TO SUCCESS

The number one pick from 2009 will set the record for the longest time taken for a QB drafted first overall to make it to a Super Bowl. It wasn’t until the Rams beat the Arizona Cardinals in the Wildcard Round of the 2021 playoffs that Stafford got his first postseason victory.

Fortunes have certainly changed for Stafford since moving to the Rams after banking his first winning season for four years. He threw for 41 touchdowns in 2021 with a competition percentage of 67.2 percent, equalling his highest number in a season in both and beaten only by Tom Brady across the league in the former.

He has a lot to thank for the players around, most notably Cooper Kupp, with the two combining for 16 touchdowns and just short of 2,000 yards. The partnership between Stafford and Kupp shone brightly once again in the Rams’ NFC Championship victory over the San Francisco 49ers in January.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the former Georgia Bulldog, and no doubt there will be obstacles he’ll inevitably face at Super Bowl LVI, as he has done throughout his career.

In 2021, the former Lion threw his highest total of interceptions since 2013 (19), averaging a pick a game during the regular season with 17, the joint-highest across the NFL.

OPPOSING THREAT

Given the caliber of the Bengals defense has been outstanding during the playoffs, which included two intercepptions on Patrick Mahomes during the AFC Championship victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, Stafford will have to be on his A-game.

The opposing Bengals offense, led by young quarterback Joe Burrow with his star rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase, also pose an enormous threat of their own.

This will be only the second time in NFL history that number one overall QBs will face off against one another in the Super Bowl, Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos who beat Cam Newton and the Panthers in 2015 being the only other.

Burrow has attracted a lot of the pre-game attention and hype ahead of Sunday, but make no mistake, this is the biggest game of Stafford’s life. The veteran playmaker must do it on the big stage to prove that he’s on pace for a Hall of Fame career.

Despite his lack of success in Detroit, Stafford ranks 12^th all-time in both passing yards and touchdowns and at the age of 33, he can certainly climb the ladder on those lists even further. A Super Bowl win would certainly help his cause.

Lions fans will surely feel disappointed to see Stafford’s achievements, particularly because of the short time taken for him to get into this position in LA after 12 fairly disappointing seasons in Detroit.

Despite this, no doubt there will be some who will be pleased to see this rejuvenated version of the one-time Pro Bowler.

The pressure is well and truly on. It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Rams, but Stafford will be confident of lifting the Lombardi Trophy on February 13.