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Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Matthew Stafford injured his right thumb in the Los Angeles Rams‘ 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but coach Sean McVay said after the game that he didn’t have any more information on the quarterback’s status.
McVay did say Stafford injured his thumb while making a catch on a 2-point conversion. McVay said Stafford had banged his thumb on a helmet on an earlier play but that the injury came when he dove into the end zone.
“We’ll see what the significance of that injury is, but I don’t want to speculate until I have full clarification from the doctors,” McVay said. “But obviously he wasn’t able to return.”
Stafford went to the locker room after injuring his thumb and returned to the sideline during the game with tape on his right hand and thumb. He was replaced by backup quarterback Brett Rypien, who completed 5 of 10 passes for 42 yards.
McVay said he didn’t know whether Stafford will miss time with the injury but that if he does, he’ll “feel for him more than anybody.”
“If in fact it is going to be an injury that leaves him out, the first thing he’s worried about is feeling like ‘I’m going to let people down,'” McVay said. “This guy is the ultimate competitor. Couldn’t respect or love anybody as much as I love this guy in regards to what he means to this team as a person first and then as a player second.
“And so hopefully he’s going to be OK. If not, then we’ll figure out what the next move is for us, and sometimes that’s how things go and that’s the unfortunate part of sports depending upon how we move forward.”
Stafford had completed 13 of 22 passes for 162 yards with a touchdown and an interception before he left the game. He missed eight games last season due to injury and ended the season on injured reserve with a spinal cord contusion.
Rypien has served as the Rams’ backup quarterback this season. Los Angeles drafted quarterback Stetson Bennett in the fourth round to serve as Stafford’s backup, but he has been on the reserve/non-football illness list since Sept. 13.