The Los Angeles Rams felt like their offense wasn’t reaching its true potential in 2020 with Jared Goff as their quarterback. It’s why they traded him and two first-round picks to the Lions for Matthew Stafford.
The improvement was immediate, and the difference between the Rams’ third-down offense in 2020 and 2021 was undeniable. Warren Sharp put every starting quarterback on a chart that shows their conversion rate on third down and the percentage of their passes that were thrown beyond the first-down line on such plays.
Goff was last in throws beyond the sticks and had the third-worst first-down conversion rate among all quarterbacks last season. Stafford was first in both categories, throwing past the sticks on about 60% of his third-down attempts and converting more than 50% of the time.
Sean McVay's current QB vs former QB
no QB threw beyond the sticks on 3rd down more than Matthew Stafford & it led to the best conversion rate in the NFL
no QB threw short of the sticks on 3rd down more than Jared Goff & it led to one of the worst conversion rates in the NFL pic.twitter.com/lIjcCLpbVa
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 7, 2022
According to Pro Football Reference, Stafford had a completion rate of 64.5% with 1,379 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions on third down last season. He averaged 9.8 yards per attempt, which is 2 more yards than he averaged on any other down.
He excelled in third-and-long situations, which allowed the Rams to keep their offense on the field and convert in difficult spots. With Goff the year prior, Sean McVay would often call screens and runs on third-and-long, but he trusted Stafford to make plays when the Rams got behind the chains.
It’s a big reason the Rams were seventh in third-down conversion rate and ninth in total yards last season.
