Kelly Stafford argued that her husband Matthew Stafford’s reputation has started to precede him on the football field.
During the Tuesday, October 8 episode of her “The Morning After” podcast, Kelly addressed a fan question about why Matthew, quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, keeps getting his “ass kicked” without any roughing the passer penalties being called.
“I will say one thing, Matthew doesn’t tend to get those calls,” Kelly argued. “I think there’s quarterbacks that draw those calls. Matthew’s known as, like, the tough guy around the league. In my mind, I’m going, ‘Well, they think he’s tough enough to handle it.’”
According to a 2022 study by Pro Football Focus, Matthew, 36, actually had the third-most roughing the passer penalties called in his favor since 2010, behind only Matt Ryan and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Matthew has received only one roughing the passer penalty in the Rams’ first five games this season.
Whatever the case, Kelly explained how it’s still a struggle to watch Matthew get knocked to the ground in his 16th season in the NFL.
“I’m upstairs a hot wreck because I know when he comes home, the bruises, the swelling, it’s a lot right now,” she said. “He’s not young. Recovering from those hits can get tough.”
Kelly drilled into the minutiae of roughing the passer penalties, which is called when a defensive player makes contact with the quarterback after the ball has been thrown.
“This is what happens to Matthew a lot that doesn’t get called: if a guy tackles you and lands with his full body weight on top of you,” she explained. “You’re thinking about these men that are chasing after these quarterbacks. They’re 275-plus [pounds] and they are freak athletes. Insane athletes. They’re coming full force at you. They hit you with all of their body weight on top of you? And on turf? That’s just bone-shattering.”
Kelly continued, “Matthew got that two weeks ago and no call. He said he felt his sternum crack. … He looked at the ref and he was like, ‘I don’t know, that really felt like it was his whole f—ing body weight on me.’”
To further her argument, Kelly suggested that some quarterbacks in the league get more roughing the passer calls because they “sell it more.”
“Maybe some quarterbacks get angry enough to where the refs are like, OK, OK,’” she continued. “I don’t know. My thought is, Matthew’s really tough so they just don’t call it.”’
After their bye week, Matthew and the Rams return to action Sunday, October 20, against the Las Vegas Raiders.
