Rams starter John Wolford suffers neck injury vs. Seahawks

The quarterback who helped lift the Rams into the playoffs made his postseason debut Saturday, albeit briefly.

John Wolford started Saturday’s NFC wild-card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks after getting the nod from coach Sean McVay, who hadn’t publicly committed to Wolford or Jared Goff in the days ahead of the game.

Wolford, however, didn’t stay long. He was replaced by Goff with 5:34 left in the first quarter when he sustained a neck injury following a hit by Seattle’s Jamal Adams. Wolford left for the locker room as the Rams’ second possession fizzled under Goff, leading to a 40-yard field goal by Matt Gay to give L.A. a 3-0 lead.

Wolford was later transported in an ambulance to a hospital for “precautionary measures,” a Rams spokesperson said.

Goff underwent surgery to repair a fractured thumb after sustaining the injury in a 20-9 loss to the Seahawks 13 days ago at Lumen Field.

McVay had been coy about his quarterback plans all week, but expressed confidence that Goff would be active for the game. Goff struggled to jump-start the Rams’ offense in his last game against the Seahawks on Dec. 27, throwing a costly pick-six in the second quarter.

Wolford completed 22 of 38 passes for 231 yards and rushed for a team-best 56 yards against the Cardinals last week.