Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images. Pictured: Jared Goff
One week removed from thumb surgery, Jared Goff is pushing to play on Saturday when the Rams face the Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card round.
Goff missed Week 17 after injuring his thumb during a Week 16 loss to the Seahawks. John Wolford made his NFL debut in Goff’s place last week, doing enough to get the Rams a win over the Cardinals to clinch a playoff spot.
The decision is expected to go down to the wire.
Head coach Sean McVay announced the team will not name a quarterback prior to kickoff. Wolford has taken most snaps during practice this week to prepare as if he’s the starter. Goff underwent surgery with the hope he could return for this specific game.
What Goff’s Potential Absence Means for Rams
Bettors didn’t shy away from the Rams in Week 17 despite Wolford starting. The Cardinals were at one point 3-point favorites, but the line dropped to a pick’em before kick. Some of that was the belief that there wasn’t enough difference between Goff and a quarterback with a LinkedIn page.
There is a difference, though, as our Director of Predictive Analytics Sean Koerner points out in his latest player ratings.
Goff is rated as the most important player to the spread on the Rams roster. That’s probably no surprise as the starting quarterback. According to Koerner, the drop-off from Goff to Wolford is worth about 3.5 to 4 points on the spread.
Even with the uncertainty at the most important position, the line is moving toward Los Angeles. Seattle opened as a 4.5-point favorite but the line is down to -3 (real-time odds here).
In other injury news, Cooper Kupp was activated from the COVID/reserve list and will play. Defensive tackle Michael Brockers was also activated. Offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth returns from IR and is expected to start.