Tough day for NFL quarterbacks, but Matthew Stafford and Rams survive

It was a brutal Sunday for NFL quarterbacks.

Injuries, inefficiencies and aggressive defenses made for tough games across the league.

The Rams defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 20-15, and the quarterbacks combined for zero touchdowns and four interceptions.

Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy combined for zero touchdowns and five interceptions in Kansas City's 28-18 win at San Francisco.

Houston's CJ Stroud, last season's Offensive Rookie of the Year, had a terrible day in Green Bay, and Washington's Jayden Daniels, who is on his way to those awards this season, left Sunday's game after the first series with a rib injury.

That might have spelled doom for the Commanders, but they played against Carolina led by Andy Dalton – 93 yards passing, two interceptions.

Washington won 40-7.

“We all called each other and said, 'We're going to do it today,'” Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford joked when asked about subpar quarterback play from coast to coast.

At SoFi Stadium, the Rams' defense reigned supreme.

Aidan O'Connell, the Raiders' starting quarterback, left the game in the first quarter with a thumb injury. His successor, Gardner Minshew, struggled to generate any spark.

The Rams picked on him three times, and he left with a passer rating barely old enough to drink — 21.0.

“It’s super frustrating,” Minshew said. “I’ve never turned the ball over like that in my life.”

And considering Tom Brady just signed on as minority owner of the Raiders, he's got seven Super Bowl rings. Luckily he wasn't there to witness this debacle. Less fortunately, Brady was in the broadcast booth when Fox called the Super Bowl rematch between the Chiefs and 49ers.

Miami lost Tyler Huntley to a shoulder injury in Indianapolis, leaving the Dolphins with Tim Boyle at center. The team, which went 16-10, has used four quarterbacks this season but is scheduled to get Tua Tagovailoa back this week after he missed four weeks with his recent concussion.

The New York Giants benched Daniel Jones in the fourth quarter of a 28-3 loss to Philadelphia and replaced him with Drew Lock. After the game, Giants coach Brian Daboll told reporters that Jones would keep his starting job.

“Yeah, it was frustrating,” Jones told reporters. “You want to be out there, playing with your teammates and fighting to score points and move the ball. So I was frustrated, but it wasn't my decision.

“I obviously didn’t like it.”

Read more: The Rams hold off the Raiders, ending their second losing streak in two games as the defense shines

And in Cleveland, the ill-fated Deshaun Watson experiment took another downturn. As you recall, Watson was signed by the Browns to a guaranteed $230 million contract despite more than 20 lawsuits being filed against him for sexual assault and/or misconduct.

He apparently suffered a season-ending injury to his Achilles tendon and was booed by some hometown spectators as he was carried off the field on a cart.

“We don't boo guys who are injured on the field, especially when the car comes out,” teammate Myles Garrett told reporters. “We should be ashamed as Browns and as fans for booing and bringing anyone down.”

Every game is its own story. It's a strange coincidence that so many quarterbacks across the league had such a poor Week 7. However, it's worth noting that this is generally the time of the season when offenses tend to have a slight advantage over defenses.

Defenses often have the edge early in the season – they have a thinner playbook, after all – and it takes a few weeks for offenses to catch up and get going. At least that wasn't the case on Sunday.

“It's every week in this league,” said Stafford, who took several big hits and finished with a season-low passing rating of 62.6. “Defenses are also paid to stop us. You're doing a good job. … I know for a fact that I left some plays out there, some out routes to my left that I want back.”

The Rams are enjoying the play of their young defense, as they should after a win that felt more one-sided than the five-point difference suggests.

They're bringing back All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp for Thursday night's home game against Minnesota, and that should be a big boost for Stafford, assuming he gets adequate protection on offense.

Not every quarterback had problems on Sunday. Detroit's Jared Goff completed all but three of his 25 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions are a powerhouse.

Another strange season.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.