Why is Matthew Stafford not playing tonight for Rams vs. Packers on MNF?

Matthew Stafford won the Super Bowl last season, as his Los Angeles Rams were on a tear. The Rams blitzed the opposition and played some of the best offensive football seen in the NFL for a while. However, this season has been a marked contrast, as they have one of the worst Super Bowl defenses in history.

This is partially due to Matthew Stafford's injury issues all season long, as the former Detroit Lion has suffered a hail of injuries. Stafford's season is all but over, as the Rams' starter is recovering from a spinal cord contusion, an injury with no timeframe for recovery. Doctors have advised Strafford to stay off the gridiron if he wants to avoid surgery.

Who is the starting Rams QB today vs. Green Bay Packers in week 15?

As a result of Strafford's injury, he has been ruled out indefinitely for the Rams' games this season. That means the starting job for tonight's game is between QB2 John Wolford and the hottest quarterback on the block, Baker Mayfield.

As ill luck would have it, Wolford is out for the Packers' game with a neck injury sustained in his last start at the Las Vegas Raiders. That means Baker Mayfield will get the chance to start his first game as a Ram. Mayfield fans would be elated at the news, as it gives the former Cleveland Browns star a chance to audition for a permanent role with the franchise.

What's more, there isn't anything to lose starting Mayfield against the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay Packers. The Rams' playoff hopes are all but over, Cooper Kupp is still on IR, and the side could do with rotating pieces to know who makes the cut for next season.

How is Baker Mayfield performing this season?

At the beginning of the 2022 NFL season, Baker Mayfield was undoubtedly the league's laughingstock. He had just lost his starting job on the Browns to another QB who hadn't played a snap of football in almost two years in Deshaun Watson. He was regularly blamed for the Browns' struggles during his 2021 season as the starter at QB, and Odell Beckham Jr's dad flamed him. Odell was released and won the Super Bowl with Los Angeles, so that had to sting. It didn't stop there, as Mayfield was later traded to the basement team, Carolina Panthers, and he couldn't even maintain a job there.

It was only after he was released by the Panthers and signed off the waivers by the Rams that his season truly took flight. This season, the former number-one Draft pick has put up a stat line of 1,543 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and six interceptions.