At 38 years old, and playing in his 18th NFL season, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has seen just about everything. 

He’s played through injuries, crossed oceans, survived Detroit, and won a Super Bowl in Los Angeles. 

And yet, there is still something about the bright lights of Monday Night Football that still gets him excited. 

“I love playing on Monday nights,” Stafford said on Thursday as the Rams prepared to host the New York Giants in their home opener at SoFi Stadium. “Monday Night Football has always meant something in this league. We all grew up watching it and it’s fun to be a part of it.”

For Stafford and the Rams, Monday night also offers something else: a chance to rinse away the bitter taste of Melbourne.

The Rams returned from Australia last weekend after a forgettable 27-7 Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which Stafford and the Rams offense were never able to build a rhythm or find their footing. 

According to Stafford, they didn’t sustain drives, didn’t execute, performed poorly on third downs, and weren’t efficient enough. The loss left Stafford searching for answers during the long flight home and had head coach Sean McVay wishing he was in the movie “Men in Black.”

“I just want to be present now and move forward,” McVay said of the loss in Melbourne. “It’s almost like you try to do the ‘Men in Black’ thing where you say, ‘all right, I don’t remember what happened.’”

McVay of course is referencing the Neuralyzer, the memory-wiping device from the movie that Will Smith’s character famously refers to as the “flashy thing.”

Thankfully for McVay and the Rams, Monday Night Football offers a familiar stage and an opportunity for redemption against the New York Giants. 

“Those guys, they play with their hair on fire. They really get after it,” said McVay of the Giants defense. “We have to match that or exceed that energy and that edge.”

There are drawbacks to playing Monday night, of course. Stafford has been around long enough to understand the bill eventually comes due.

“Obviously, the scheduling part of it is a little unique and a little difficult,” Stafford said. “You get an extra day on the front end, but it cuts into the following week and your recovery time for the next game.”

At his age, recovery isn’t exactly a footnote. Stafford has taken thousands of hits, thrown thousands of passes and accumulated enough NFL mileage to make Monday night feel like just another day at the office.

Except it isn’t. 

It’s still Monday Night Football. The nationally televised game when everyone is home from work and ready to watch some football. The theme music hits, the stadium lights burn brighter and for three hours, there’s only one game that owns the stage. 

Stafford grew up as a kid from Texas watching those games and dreaming to be a part of them. Nearly two decades into his own NFL career, and he’s still fortunate enough to play in them. 

And frankly, after what happened last week in Australia, he couldn’t ask for a better stage to hit the reset button.

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