Jared Goff missed his first game ever due to injury Sunday, sitting out the season finale after undergoing surgery to repair a broken thumb on his throwing hand. John Wolford did an admirable job in his place against the Cardinals, though, leading the Rams to an 18-7 win and punching their ticket to the playoffs.
Just by getting the start, Wolford became the first quarterback ever to make his first career start in Week 17 with his team’s playoff hopes still alive. But that wasn’t the only bit of history he made.
Wolford threw for 231 yards and rushed for 56, too, which is something no player has ever done in his first career game. That’s right, he’s the first quarterback ever to throw for at least 200 yards and rush for at least 50 yards in his first career game.
🗣 LET’S GO pic.twitter.com/cNYblLOx8G
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 4, 2021
Gardner Minshew, Caleb Hanie, Rich Gannon, Chase Daniel and Randall Cunningham all accomplished it in their first career starts, but no player had ever done it in his first game ever. That’s pretty impressive for the former AAF quarterback.
It’s also worth noting that his 56 yards rushing are the most in a game by a Rams quarterback since Roman Gabriel had 57 in 1967. The only other Rams quarterback with at least 45 yards rushing in a game since 2000 is Trent Green.
