Matthew Stafford knew Sunday Night Football in Denver would be loud. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback, coming off a 28-6 win over the New York Giants, was heading into a stadium where his own coaches had flagged communication as a challenge. But during the Week 3 matchup, that concern became real.
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“This is wild. The stadium in Denver was so loud that #Rams QB Matthew Stafford had to run to the sideline before the final play just so Sean McVay could tell him the play call. McVay then stumbled and dropped his headset. Crazy.” MLFootball posted on X.
Stafford put his hands on his helmet before heading over, and the two talked closely. DNVR Broncos podcast’s Ryan Koenigsberg did not hold back on his jab at the quarterback.
“Matthew Stafford’s getting really old, so his hearing is probably going,” he said. “But he could not hear anything. I mean, he’s crouched over both hands trying to hear the call.”
It did not help the Rams much. Stafford threw an interception to end the game.
There’s a good reason it played out that way. Empower Field at Mile High is known for its altitude and loud crowds, which make communication tough for visiting offenses.
The numbers back up the noise, too. Acoustical engineers at Commercial Acoustics ranked all 30 NFL stadiums on a 100-point loudness scale, looking at architectural acoustics, steady crowd noise, peak noise during big moments, and operational design. Empower Field at Mile High landed at No. 8 with an 87.
The Broncos know full well how loud the crowd can get. Defensive lineman Jordan Jackson told The Denver Post that he felt the crowd was the loudest last year in the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, particularly when Malcolm Roach recorded a sack.
Also, head coach Sean Payton looks forward to the crowd giving a tough time to opponents.
“For years, we were conditioned to raise the noise level when they break the huddle,” Payton said in January. “The noise level needs to be loudest when they enter the huddle. Then can you do that — Can we do that collectively for 120 snaps? No, I just need it for half the snaps in the game. So, say, 65 snaps of 10 seconds. That’s a huge advantage.”
The Rams knew what they were walking into. Offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase talked about preparing for the atmosphere. He admitted he had never been to Denver, but he expected a big turnout from Broncos fans for Sunday Night Football.
“A number of exotic looks that you got to be able to work through, and you got to be able to have great communication. Obviously, doing that in their stadium is a challenge.”
Once the game started, the Broncos looked lost early. They were slow in the first half, but they put together a strong second half and hung on to beat the Rams 30-26.
Down 16-0 at halftime, Denver came out and scored two touchdowns, each followed by a successful two-point conversion, to tie it at 16 in the third quarter. The Rams took a three-point lead with 8:40 left in the fourth, but the Broncos made the most of every Los Angeles mistake from there.
The biggest one came on third and 6 from the Denver 38, when Stafford was picked off by Talanoa Hufanga, who returned it 66 yards for a touchdown and established a 23-19 Broncos lead. Stafford shook it off quickly, though. He answered right away with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Konata Mumpfield, making it 26-23 with 3:38 left.
Late penalties then swung the game back to Denver. A costly interception was removed because of a defensive pass interference call on LA’s Josh Wallace. On the Rams’ last drive, Stafford was intercepted yet again.
Now at 2-1, the Broncos will hit the road to face the 3- 0 San Francisco 49ers in Week 4. The 1-2 Rams will travel across the country to take on the Eagles next Sunday.