No-looks and back shoulders: Matthew Stafford is showing he’s healthy and ready to lead Rams again

LOS ANGELES — Even after missing nearly a month of training camp and sitting out the preseason, Matthew Stafford had zero trouble getting up to his old tricks in the Los Angeles Rams’ season opener.

Stafford also pulled out a couple of new tricks that showed he’s still growing in his 17th NFL season.

The 37-year-old quarterback pulled off his latest no-look pass during the Rams’ 14-9 victory over Houston, hitting Puka Nacua for a 25-yard gain after misdirecting the Texans’ defense to clear space for his receiver down the seam.

With instincts honed over a long career, Stafford said he made the decision “in the moment” to try the audacious throw.

“I never know if anybody will notice any of the little stuff, but that’s part of it,” Stafford said Wednesday. “(Running back) Kyren (Williams) was excited on that one. He came up to me afterwards and said, ‘How do you do that?’ Which is cool. But no, it’s fun. Obviously, caught the snap, wasn’t thinking it, and then just in the moment, (made) a play.”

The pass not only led to a key first down, but demonstrated Stafford is still sharp and competitive after spending much of the past two months working through an aggravated disk in his back. The lingering injury had many observers questioning whether the Rams could contend for a playoff berth without a healthy Stafford, even while the quarterback said he was healthy and ready to play.

Stafford’s facility with no-look passes is part of his lore, particularly after he famously hit Cooper Kupp in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ Super Bowl 56 victory with a pass that inspires YouTube breakdowns with hyperbolic titles like: “Best Throw Ever?”

But earlier in that same fourth quarter, Stafford broke new ground when he hit Davante Adams for a 24-yard completion in which Stafford perfectly feathered a ball to the back shoulder of his new teammate, who alertly broke stride to haul it in.

It was a throw and catch that looked just like a vintage hookup between Adams and Aaron Rodgers when the two were teammates with the Green Bay Packers — and even Stafford knew it.

“I know he’s really good at that kind of stuff just from playing against him and watching him torment my team back in the day,” said Stafford, who quarterbacked the Packers’ NFC North rivals in Detroit for 12 years. “So yeah, I know he’s got that. I’ve played a long time. He’s played a long time. I understand that’s an opportunity.”

Stafford said he and Adams haven’t had much time to work on those intricate, high-level connections in practices due to Stafford’s back injury, but they’re building chemistry every day.

Coach Sean McVay dialed up the play, but he said Stafford figured out how to make it work in tight coverage from star defensive back Derek Stingley.

“Look at when he lets that go, and that’s against one of the premier corners in this league,” McVay said, noting Stafford released the ball before Adams had even looked back at his quarterback.

Stafford went 21 of 29 for 245 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against Houston’s elite defense. He was sacked three times — twice on the same drive in the fourth quarter that started with his back-shoulder throw to Adams — and hit six times, but he emerged from his first game action since January in good shape.

The Rams are on the road for the next two weeks with big tests for Stafford. Los Angeles visits pass rusher Jeffery Simmons and the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, followed by a trip to face the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Rams twice last season.

Titans head coach Brian Callahan was Stafford’s quarterbacks coach with the Lions in 2016 and 2017, and he knows what his team is about to face.

“He is like the quintessential quarterback,” Callahan said. “If you could build one, they look like Matthew. Awesome human being to be around. … I had a lot of joy coaching him for those two years. I wish it was longer. I really did have a good relationship with him. I really very much enjoyed how he went about his job. And we’ve got a stiff test. He’s still playing, I think, at a top-five quarterback level in football at this moment.”

NOTES: Starting OL Kevin Dotson, Steve Avila and Rob Havenstein all have ankle injuries, and all three sat out practice Wednesday. McVay didn’t rule out any of the three to play Sunday. … TE Davis Allen, who caught Stafford’s only TD pass last Sunday, was limited in practice with a knee injury. TE Colby Parkinson also missed practice with his shoulder injury.

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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker in Nashville contributed to this report.