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Rams head coach Sean McVay said the handling of Goff's departure
wasn't exactly a smooth process.
"I wish there was better, clearer communication," McVay said.
"To say that it was perfectly handled on my end, I wouldn't be
totally accurate in that. I'll never claim to be perfect, but I
will try to learn from some things that I can do better, and I
think that was one of them without a doubt."
For the Rams, the move to securing Stafford's services has gone
well, as L.A. sits at 5-1, just below the 6-0 Arizona Cardinals
in the NFC West. The same cannot be said for the Lions. At 0-6,
Detroit is still looking for its first win under first-year head
coach Dan Campbell.
But two of Detroit's six losses came on last-second field goals,
including an NFL-record 66-yarder by Justin Tucker in a 19-17
loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3.
"They all count the same, but we've got to find a way to win a
game," Goff said. "I've got to be better. We've got to be
better. ... It starts in practice. We can say all we want --
that we want to start fast and do things on game day. But until
we change habits and do things the right way consistently, we
can't really expect anything else."
Through six games, Goff has thrown for 1,505 passing yards,
completing 66.8 percent of passes with seven touchdowns and four
interceptions. Goff will be playing at SoFi Stadium with fans in
attendance for the first time.
"There was some disrespect felt towards the end, there was some
sourness toward the end, and you still feel that you have a chip
on your shoulder," Goff said about facing the Rams. "But at the
same time, when the game starts, if I let any of that come into
how I'm going to play the game, that would be selfish."
As NFL observers expected, Stafford has thrived in McVay's
offense. Through six games, Stafford is fourth in the NFL in
passing yards (1,838), third in passing touchdowns (16) and
second in passer rating (116.6).
Like Goff, Stafford will face his former team for the first time
after spending 12 years in Detroit.
"It's an NFL opponent coming into our building," Stafford said.
"Do I have a ton of history with them? Absolutely. In pregame am
I going to be saying ‘hey' to some old teammates, friends and
the Ford family if they hopefully make the trip? Absolutely.
"I've got nothing but great relationships with the people over
there and I have a lot of respect for the team and the
organization. But it will be just another football game once the
ball is snapped."
Running back Sony Michel (shoulder) did not practice for the
Rams on Wednesday, making his availability for Sunday's game a
question mark. For the Lions, tight end TJ Hockenson (knee),
defensive end Nick Williams (knee) and fullback Jason Cabinda
(hip) did not practice.
Campbell also told reporters that left tackle Taylor Decker
could miss the entire season due to a finger injury he suffered
in September before the regular season started. Decker returned
to practice this week, but reportedly still has discomfort.
--Field Level Media
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