Matthew Stafford Boldly Claims Cam Ward's First TD Pass Was 'Patrick Mahomes-ish'
Stafford was mightily impressed by Ward's abilities on the run.
Cam Ward may still be looking for his first career win two games into his rookie campaign, but the Tennessee Titans quarterback managed to toss his first touchdown pass of his career in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams, and what a toss it was.
Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford, a former first-overall pick like Ward, was certainly impressed.
"Man, his first touchdown pass of his career was one to remember," Stafford said on the ‘Let’s Go' podcast. "That was an unbelievable play. I just tipped my cap to him on the sideline and said, 'That's well done, youngin'.'"
Unbelievable is a fitting word to describe Ward's touchdown pass against the Rams.
With the Titans trailing the Rams 10-3 with under a minute remaining in the opening half, Ward and the Tennessee offense faced a third-and-goal situation from the nine-yard line. After going through his progression and not seeing anything he liked, Ward backed all the way up to the 25-yard line before launching a pass across his body and dropping one in the bread basket of rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor.
Watching Ward's touchdown pass, it's easy to quickly compare it to some we've seen out of some of the best quarterbacks in the league. While some may draw comparisons to Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, Stafford likened the play out of Ward to three-time Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes.
"I was impressed by what he was able to do out of the pocket. He made some plays with his feet and threw a couple balls in timing and rhythm down the field to some receivers that were really impressive," Stafford continued. "And then the touchdown pass was a play of its own. It almost looked a little Patrick Mahomes-ish, where you're running around back there buying all sorts of time and then throwing it to the part of the field where nobody thought you'd throw it. And it was an impressive play by the kid."
After completing just 43% of his passes in Tennessee's Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos, Ward improved that number to 57% against the Rams. If Ward keeps trending in the right direction, it's hard to imagine the Titans staying winless for too long.
Tennessee hosts the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3.