For a while there, it felt like we were staring at a very different Sunday night. The Los Angeles Rams were pushed to the edge before finally edging past the Carolina Panthers with a 34–31 wild-card win. The victory leaned heavily on Matthew Stafford, who played through injury, but while Los Angeles moves on, the quarterback’s postgame health update raises concern going forward.

“It wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t great. We’ll see what it is. I was obviously able to finish the game and throw it decent. Once the ball’s snapped, the adrenaline’s pretty good, so we’ll hopefully just keep it going,” Matthew Stafford said during the post-game presser.

Yeah, it’s probably the adrenaline that’s keeping him upright till now, because that one looked like it hurt. Late in the second quarter, Stafford banged his throwing hand into D.J. Wonnum while following through on a pass. He immediately grabbed his hand, and for a minute, it looked like his night had come to an end.

Instead, Stafford stayed in. He gave Sean McVay a thumbs-up on the sideline and played on. He played through all four quarters, clearly hurt and uncomfortable, but led his team to victory yet again.

Plenty went wrong for the Rams along the way. Nine penalties cost them 83 yards. Their fourth-down defense couldn’t get off the field early, as Carolina converted all three of its attempts in the first half. Any one of those things could’ve flipped the game.

What didn’t flip was Stafford. He threw for three touchdowns and dragged the Rams across the line, becoming the fifth player in NFL history with 300 or more passing yards in at least seven career playoff games.

His finger would be something to keep an eye on throughout the week, as neither Stafford nor McVay indicated that it’s something minor. The head coach would surely be hoping it’s nothing when the adrenaline calms down.

And how he feels about his quarterback was pretty clear when he talked about his performance in the post-game presser.

Sean McVay’s take on Stafford’s performance

The QB went 24/42 for 304 yards, 3 TDs, and a pick in the Wild Card game against Carolina. But it wasn’t as pretty as the stat line suggests. After banging up his hand, he went just 2-of-12 for 24 yards and an interception over the rest of the first half and the entire third quarter.

The ball wasn’t coming out clean. He missed throws he normally makes, and his lone pick came on an underthrow to Davante Adams. And yet, he still brought them home. That’s the part that matters. That’s what stood out to Sean McVay more than anything else.

“It was MVP-type of stuff, what he did. Good call, I thought he redirected a couple of protections that allowed him not to be hot…and on all those plays he ended up finding completions. And he got a bunch of different guys involved who thought he saw the field really well. That’s why we are advancing, cause of his leadership,” he said.

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When the Rams absolutely needed him, Stafford came in clutch. In the fourth quarter, he went 12-of-15 for 143 yards and two touchdowns, finishing the night with a clean strike to Colby Parkinson. That 19-yard touchdown wasn’t an easy throw, either.

It carried a completion probability of just 27.3 percent, the second-most improbable completion of the game. The only throw that topped it was Bryce Young’s go-ahead touchdown to Jalen Coker two minutes earlier, which came in at 19.7 percent.

But now, McVay’s checklist heading into the next round is pretty simple. Clean up the discipline issues, and hope Stafford’s body cooperates. He’s dealt with back problems over the years, and now there’s a hand injury layered on top.

We all know how it’s going to go with the Rams. If the Rams are going anywhere in January, it starts with keeping Matthew Stafford upright.