THOUSAND OAKS, California – There will be no mystery to the kick-off of who still starts as a defender for the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.
Quarterback John Wolford has been ruled out due to a neck injury, so Jared Goff will start, coach Sean McVay said on Thursday. Blake Bortles will serve as a backup.
McVay expressed disappointment that Wolford was unable to compete in training this week, but the coach said Goff is making progress as he recovers from the surgery he did on the thumb of his throwing hand on December 28.
“He did a good job throughout the week,” said McVay. “… I know he is in no pain.”
Prior to Thursday, McVay had been shy about his team’s quarterback situation. He didn’t announce a starter for last week’s game until just before the game started.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur told reporters on Thursday that the decision to start Goff would not “affect” his game plan too much.
“I think there may be a few things,” said LaFleur, who was Goff’s offensive coordinator in LA in 2017. “… I think we were getting ready for Jared all week, so it hasn’t changed much.”
Wolford started the wild card game against the Seattle Seahawks, but left in the first quarter after taking a blow to the head and neck. He was transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure during the game, but returned to Lumen Field in time to participate in the celebration in the Rams locker room after the 30-20 victory.
McVay described Wolford’s injury as a “stinger”.
Goff replaced Wolford and completed 9 of 19 passes for 155 yards, and said after the game it would be difficult when McVay said Wolford would start.
“As a competitor, of course I wanted to be there and I wanted to play and I felt I could make a difference,” said Goff. “He is the coach. He had to make a decision that he needed to make earlier in the week to get ahead of some things. I understand. But as a competitor, of course I wanted to play and I was ready to play.”
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.