Matthew Stafford has never been afraid to take shots down the field, and his skill set is being utilized perfectly under Sean McVay this season. With the Los Angeles Rams possessing one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, Stafford is seeing plenty of defenses run two-high safety coverages against him.
To be exact, Stafford is seeing two-high safety coverages at the second-highest rate in the NFL, only behind Patrick Mahomes. Teams have attempted to prevent the Rams from converting on deep plays this season, but Stafford continues to connect on shots down the field with his assortment of weapons on offense.
Patrick Mahomes is facing two-high safety coverages at the highest rate in the NFL this season. Opposing defenses are clearly attempting to prevent the Chiefs explosive pass, and it’s working thus far. pic.twitter.com/myoeFOxV2u
— Joey (@joeyanalytics) October 28, 2021
Stafford has always been an aggressive quarterback, and he’s currently averaging 9.2 intended air yards per attempt, which is the fourth-most among qualified quarterbacks. It has resulted in the Rams recording the fifth-most passing plays of 15-plus yards through the first seven weeks.
Opposing teams understand that this is a completely different Rams offense with Stafford replacing Jared Goff. McVay has handed the keys to the offense to Stafford and the fearless signal-caller is running it to near-perfection.
We’ve seen more defenses playing two-high safeties this season with a handful of teams predicating their offenses on being able to connect on deep passes. While defenses are scheming ways to avoid the big plays versus the Rams, Stafford is still picking apart defenses to the tune of 2,172 yards and 19 touchdowns.
