Why Matthew Stafford proved he’s in MVP mix after “Hall of Fame” Jacksonville Jaguars hammering

THE Los Angeles Rams absolutely dismantled the Jacksonville Jaguars in front of a packed crowd at Wembley Stadium.

Despite arriving in London just around 24 hours before the game, the Rams looked much better prepared for the contest.

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The Los Angeles Rams steamrolled the Jacksonville Jaguars in LondonCredit: Reuters

The Jaguars only managed to score seven points against the RamsCredit: Reuters

The game finished with a 35-7 score in favor of the Rams, and from the very beginning it looked like Los Angeles would be returning home with a win.

Much of that confidence was thanks to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw a nearly flawless game.

The Rams defense also stepped up in a big way, totally shutting the Jaguars down.

Jacksonville has a lot of soul searching to do after this game, as they are now on a two-game losing streak and aren’t showing many positive signs.

But what did the Jaguars do right? How did the Rams make this such a blowout?

Those questions and more were answered on this week’s episode of The U.S. Sun Sport’s Football Xs and Os.

CHIEF OF STAFF

Stafford is off to a roaring start to the season, and should be in talks for the MVP award.

He was nearly flawless in the London game despite not throwing for an eye-popping yardage total.

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Stafford had just 182 yards, but he threw for five touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over once.

“He’s a special quarterback,” NFL expert David Scott said.

“I think we’re going to see that throughout the rest of the season, I think we’re going to see it into a playoff run.

“You could absolutely see the Rams back in the Super Bowl this year.”

Through seven games, Stafford now has 1,866 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just two interceptions.

That is the third most passing yards in the league and the most passing touchdowns.

Dak Prescott is the closest passer to Stafford this season, passing for 1,881 yards, 17 touchdowns, and three interceptions.

The Rams are legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year, with a legitimate MVP candidate on their roster.

With Sean McVay as their head coach, there’s no telling how far the Rams could go this year.

QB DONE?

The jury is still out about Trevor Lawrence‘s NFL prospects.

He in just his fifth year as a pro quarterback, but has yet to truly show that he an elite quarterback.

The question marks surrounding Lawrence are only continuing to linger as this season rolls along.

“I think Trevor Lawrence, it’s a chore watching him,” host Ryan Sanudo said.

“Taking sacks when he shouldn’t be, and just the mistakes… These are mistakes that I’m seeing from a rookie quarterback possibly.”

Jacksonville picked up signature wins against the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 4 and 5, but then dropped back-to-back contests against the Seattle Seahawks and Rams in Weeks 6 and 7.

Lawrence is on pace to finish this season with 3,934 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Those aren’t bad numbers, but they certainly aren’t enough to lead a team to a Super Bowl.

Lawrence needs to find a second level soon, or else the Jaguars could remain stagnant for more years to come.

HAT TRICK HERO

Davante Adams and Stafford have built up a special connection in their first season together.

After a three touchdown performance on Sunday, Adams now leads the NFL with six receiving touchdowns.

He got his touchdowns while close to the goal line on Sunday, pulling in multiple short passes for scores.

The Rams were perfectly executing on play-action and read-option plays throughout the game, and did so on Adams’ second touchdown of the game.

“They love the play action,” Scott said.

“They were really deceiving the Jaguars defense, they didn’t know what to go after.”

With the score at 14-0, the Rams lined up in a tight formation with running back Kyren Williams alongside Stafford.

From there, Stafford placed the ball in Williams’ hands, but quickly pulled it back when he realized that Adams got open on his route.

He fired a quick pass in — which Adams caught with one hand — to score a special touchdown.

All three of Adams’ touchdowns came within the Jaguars’ two-yard line and all were some form of goal line fade.

TIGHT WINDOW

This performance from the Rams was especially impressive when you consider that Puka Nacua was sidelined with an injury.

Without Nacua on the field, Stafford spread the wealth to as many players as possible.

Throughout the game, 10 different Rams caught passes from Stafford, with six of them catching more than one pass.

Despite only passing for 182 yards, Stafford found a way to involve almost everyone on the field, and found success doing so.

However, much of that success came from Stafford’s use of the tight end position.

Tight ends accounted for eight of Stafford’s 21 completions, and Terrance Ferguson caught one of Stafford’s five touchdown passes.

The Rams once again used play action in a short-yardage situation to effectively deceive the Jaguars defense.

“What do you do in short yardage situations? What did we just talk about?” Scott said.

“Play action is the name of the game, pulling guys around, deception.”

That scheme allowed Ferguson to blast past the lurking safety to easily walk in for a touchdown.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Travis Hunter is a name that hasn’t been said enough for the Jaguars.

Simply put, he hasn’t been properly utilized by the team on offense or defense.

“The Jaguars defense is struggling, they need help out there,” Scott said.

“Why are you not using your first pick?”

This week was the first week he really showed up in a big way, even if it ended up not mattering due to the scoreboard.

Hunter tallied 101 yards and scored his first touchdown against the Rams after running a crisp corner route to the end zone.

It is a good sign of what Hunter is capable of, but the Jaguars need to allow him to play more.

Hunter barely played on defense in the first half of the game, and could have helped to contain Adams’ scoring in the red zone.