Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has labelled Monday's 30-23 win over division rivals the Arizona Cardinals as "big" but says it will mean little if they do not continue to improve.
The Rams toppled the Cardinals, who are ahead of them in the NFC West, to improve their record to 9-4, while Arizona go to 10-3.
Stafford's side had lost three in a row against the Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers before winning their past two and refused to get carried away.
"Obviously it's big. Obviously it's a great win for us but at the same time we've got to make it worth something," Stafford told ESPN after the game. "We win this one and don’t take care of business in other weeks, then it don't mean much.
"We're on to the next one. This is a nice win for us, a division opponent, at a tough place to play, without some big-time key players, it's a good win to get but we've got to continue to get some more of them."
Stafford had three touchdown passes, completing 23 of 30 attempts for 287 yards. He has an NFL-high six games without three TD passes and no interceptions this season, ahead of Kirk Cousins, Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers with four.
The win came with the Rams without five players due to COVID-19 protocols, including Jalen Ramsey and Tyler Higbee who were both ruled out on the day of the game. Rob Havenstein, Dont'e Deayon and running back Darrell Henderson were also unavailable.
"It's a total team win," Stafford added. "A lot of adversity this week and today with some stuff going on with the players and personnel, I'm just proud of our team and our coach, and everyone sticking together. Getting one at their place, it's a tough place to play."
Rams head coach Sean McVay reiterated Stafford's comments, with the side scheduled to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday after they had managed back-to-back wins.
"It's a measuring stick for tonight. I thought the guys answered the bell," McVay said at the post-game news conference. "We've talked about it throughout the course of the year, how do we build on this, this is one night, we'll enjoy this but we've got a short week.
"Seattle has really gotten rolling over these last couple of weeks. Big win over San Fran, they looked good versus the Texans yesterday. Really pleased with these guys but we want to continue to be totally and completely present. Enjoy this but let's keep building on it.
"That's what the good teams do, they get better in the month of December. That's our goal, you've got to continue to be relevant but you want to make sure that you're improving so if you do give yourself an opportunity to play after the regular season, you're playing your best ball."
The loss is Arizona's third in a row at home and they were left to bemoan their final possession, having got within seven points, as quarterback Kyler Murray ran out of options with the clock ticking down, before being sacked for a third time by Aaron Donald.
On the final play, Murray said: "It was a miscommunication between me and the line. They thought it was a spike. It was a heat of the moment deal. I don’t even recall what was being said in the helmet."