Matthew Stafford’s career arc placing him among game’s elite
General
Published on : 6/25/2025
By Ryan Michael
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
On Dec. 22, 2024, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford stood on the brink of history.
At 36 years old, Stafford — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft who entered the League at just 21 — had become the NFL’s second-oldest starting quarterback. On the other side of the field was Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, leading the New York Jets as the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL.
Trailing 9–6 in the fourth quarter, Stafford engineered three consecutive scoring drives, leading the Rams to a 19-9 win and recording the 38th fourth-quarter comeback of his career. The comeback, Stafford’s third of the season, broke the record held by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for the most fourth-quarter comebacks in history through age 36.
Most fourth-quarter comebacks in NFL history through age 36
That record, held for decades by Unitas at 31 and extended to 37 by Manning, long was considered untouchable.
Quietly exceeding expectations, however, has been the hallmark of Stafford’s NFL career.
Injuries in his first two seasons delayed the chance for Lions fans to see what Stafford could deliver across a full 16-game slate.
In 2011, Stafford and the Lions set the NFL ablaze.
Their offense was predictable; no player on the roster rushed for more than 390 yards.
And yet they remained unstoppable.
Stafford led the NFL with 663 passing attempts. The result: franchise records for pass completions (421), passing yards (5,038) and touchdown passes (41).
Entering the season finale on the road in Green Bay, Stafford needed 482 yards and four touchdown passes to hit the hallowed 5,000/40 milestones. He ended the game completing 36 passes for 520 yards and five touchdowns.
Massive numbers, though overshadowed by NFL Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees, who set a single-season record with 5,476 passing yards, and NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who threw 48 touchdown passes.
The dynamic of Stafford’s on-field dominance being overshadowed by other great quarterbacks putting up better numbers in more favorable situations marked a theme that persisted through the first three-quarters of his career.
What might he do with a deeper supporting cast and better situation?
The answer wouldn’t come for another decade.
Stafford’s average starting field position and points per-drive defensive support
(Per: Scott Kacsmar — @ScottKacsmar)
In 15 qualified seasons, Stafford has been supported by only two top 10 starting field position finishes and two top 10 points-per-drive defensive units.
If you remove those two outliers, he has played with a 23rd ranked starting field position and a 23rd ranked points per-drive defense in 13 of his 15 seasons as a qualified starter.
In his two seasons with a top 10 starting field position (2014 and 2017), he led the Lions to winning records on both occasions, also leading the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives in 2014 and leading the NFC in passing in 2017.
In his two seasons with a top 10 points-per-drive defense (2014 and 2021), he led the Lions to an 11-5 record, the best mark the franchise posted during a 31-season stretch (1992-2022) and led the Rams to a 16-5 record and Super Bowl championship.
Did Stafford suddenly reach the prime of his career in his 13th NFL season with the Rams?
Perhaps.
It can be argued that none of his seasons was more impressive than 2016. With the NFL’s 30th-ranked starting field position, 30th-ranked rushing attack (81.9 yards per game), and 27th-ranked points-per-drive defense, Stafford led an NFL-record eight fourth-quarter comebacks and an NFL-record eight game-winning drives to get the Lions over .500 for the season. They finished 9-7.
Without those record drives and comebacks, the Lions were staring at a 1-15 record.
While fans might be familiar with NFL Films’ “mic’d up” capture of Stafford’s game-winning touchdown pass vs. the Browns in 2009 with a separated shoulder, or his famous “Clock it! Clock it!” fourth-quarter comeback vs. the Cowboys in 2013, they might be less familiar with his sustained dominance in the clutch over his career.
Stafford has produced seven seasons with four or more game-winning drives — the most in NFL history.
He ranks third all time in career postseason passer rating at 102.3, trailing only Hall of Fame quarterback KURT WARNER (102.8) and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes (105.4).
On the road in the postseason, Stafford ranks No. 1 in NFL history in both passer rating (100.0) and adjusted net yards per passing attempt (7.75; minimum 200 passing attempts).
In the 2021 divisional playoff, on the road, against Tom Brady and the favored 14-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stafford completed 28 of 38 (73.7%) passes for 366 yards (9.6 YPA), three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), zero interceptions, and a 121.2 passer rating. His 44-yard strike to Cooper Kupp with 0:27 left in the fourth quarter was the driving force behind the signature game-winning drive of his career.
If under normal circumstances, the magic well would have run dry by this point, Stafford didn’t get the memo. He went on to lead fourth-quarter comebacks in both the NFC Championship Game vs. the San Francisco 49ers and in Super Bowl LVI vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
On the game’s biggest stage, with time winding down late in the fourth quarter, Stafford appeared completely unfazed, firing a game-winning touchdown pass to Kupp with 1:25 remaining.
He ended the season not only as a Super Bowl champion but also as the first — and to-date only — NFL player to reach 6,000 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes and win a Super Bowl in the same season.
If a quarterback’s value is judged by how far he can elevate a football team’s won-loss record above expectation, Stafford’s 2016 ranks among the greatest seasons in NFL history.
If your measure is whether a quarterback can play elite football over an entire season then deliver in clutch moment after clutch moment win a championship, Stafford eviscerated all doubt in 2021.
Stafford’s career hasn’t fallen at either extreme of the “team support” spectrum. He hasn’t been another version of Archie Manning, showcasing toughness and flashes of greatness over a decade of chaos. Nor has he followed JOE MONTANA, backed by Hall of Fame talent on both sides of the ball to become the face of a dynasty.
What Stafford has achieved isn’t a simplified tale of stats or rings; it’s a testament to resilience, adaptability and quiet, under-recognized excellence in a league that often overlooks anything that doesn’t live up to the narrative of choice.
He has defied expectations, lifted teams above and beyond their potential, and delivered in the moments that separate the good quarterbacks from the great ones. His numbers already place him among the game's greats, and his ascent up the all-time ranks continues.
At 59,809 career passing yards, he sits 4,280 yards from eclipsing Dan Marino (61,361), Matt Ryan (62,792), Philip Rivers (63,440) and Ben Roethlisberger (64,088).
Depending on how much further Aaron Rodgers (62,952) climbs, it’s possible Stafford retires ranked in the Top 5 or Top 6 in most career categories, joining the exclusive company of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Rodgers at the top.
And it’s the path he took to get there — fighting through adversity, carrying limited rosters to respectable heights and maximizing the few seasons when he enjoyed support — that sets him apart in a league that often is driven as much by circumstance as by skill.
Stafford’s legacy isn’t built on hype, flash or a system that made things easier. It has been built on grit, elite-level execution under pressure and a career defined by doing more with less — until finally, in 2021, he got the chance to show what he could do with more.
Whether measured by raw production, clutch performance, or impact on team success, Stafford belongs in the conversation with the game’s best.
History might have taken time to recognize his excellence, but now there’s no denying it.
2009
2010
2011
Lions franchise records:
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
Special to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Editor’s note: This article is the latest in an ongoing series looking at quarterbacks’ achievements that have aged well over the past 80 NFL seasons.)
On Dec. 22, 2024, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford stood on the brink of history.
At 36 years old, Stafford — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft who entered the League at just 21 — had become the NFL’s second-oldest starting quarterback. On the other side of the field was Aaron Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, leading the New York Jets as the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL.
Trailing 9–6 in the fourth quarter, Stafford engineered three consecutive scoring drives, leading the Rams to a 19-9 win and recording the 38th fourth-quarter comeback of his career. The comeback, Stafford’s third of the season, broke the record held by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning for the most fourth-quarter comebacks in history through age 36.
Most fourth-quarter comebacks in NFL history through age 36
- Matthew Stafford: 38
- PEYTON MANNING: 37
- Matt Ryan: 33
- Russell Wilson: 32
- JOHNNY UNITAS: 31
- Ben Roethlisberger: 31
- DAN MARINO: 30
- JOHN ELWAY: 29
- Derek Carr: 28
- Tom Brady: 27
That record, held for decades by Unitas at 31 and extended to 37 by Manning, long was considered untouchable.
Quietly exceeding expectations, however, has been the hallmark of Stafford’s NFL career.
Injuries in his first two seasons delayed the chance for Lions fans to see what Stafford could deliver across a full 16-game slate.
In 2011, Stafford and the Lions set the NFL ablaze.
Their offense was predictable; no player on the roster rushed for more than 390 yards.
And yet they remained unstoppable.
Stafford led the NFL with 663 passing attempts. The result: franchise records for pass completions (421), passing yards (5,038) and touchdown passes (41).
Entering the season finale on the road in Green Bay, Stafford needed 482 yards and four touchdown passes to hit the hallowed 5,000/40 milestones. He ended the game completing 36 passes for 520 yards and five touchdowns.
Massive numbers, though overshadowed by NFL Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees, who set a single-season record with 5,476 passing yards, and NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who threw 48 touchdown passes.
The dynamic of Stafford’s on-field dominance being overshadowed by other great quarterbacks putting up better numbers in more favorable situations marked a theme that persisted through the first three-quarters of his career.
What might he do with a deeper supporting cast and better situation?
The answer wouldn’t come for another decade.
Stafford’s average starting field position and points per-drive defensive support
(Per: Scott Kacsmar — @ScottKacsmar)
| Season | Field Position | PPD Defense | Average Between the Two |
| 2009 | 27th | 32nd | 29.5 |
| 2010 | IR | IR | IR |
| 2011 | 14th | 15th | 14.5 |
| 2012 | 29th | 22nd | 25.5 |
| 2013 | 21st | 15th | 18.0 |
| 2014 | 6th | 4th | 5.0 |
| 2015 | 28th | 28th | 28.0 |
| 2016 | 30th | 27th | 28.5 |
| 2017 | 4th | 18th | 11.0 |
| 2018 | 25th | 17th | 21.0 |
| 2019 | 15th | 24th | 19.5 |
| 2020 | 13th | 32nd | 22.5 |
| 2021 | 23rd | 8th | 15.5 |
| 2022 | 29th | 26th | 27.5 |
| 2023 | 19th | 20th | 19.5 |
| 2024 | 27th | 23rd | 25.0 |
In 15 qualified seasons, Stafford has been supported by only two top 10 starting field position finishes and two top 10 points-per-drive defensive units.
If you remove those two outliers, he has played with a 23rd ranked starting field position and a 23rd ranked points per-drive defense in 13 of his 15 seasons as a qualified starter.
In his two seasons with a top 10 starting field position (2014 and 2017), he led the Lions to winning records on both occasions, also leading the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives in 2014 and leading the NFC in passing in 2017.
In his two seasons with a top 10 points-per-drive defense (2014 and 2021), he led the Lions to an 11-5 record, the best mark the franchise posted during a 31-season stretch (1992-2022) and led the Rams to a 16-5 record and Super Bowl championship.
Did Stafford suddenly reach the prime of his career in his 13th NFL season with the Rams?
Perhaps.
It can be argued that none of his seasons was more impressive than 2016. With the NFL’s 30th-ranked starting field position, 30th-ranked rushing attack (81.9 yards per game), and 27th-ranked points-per-drive defense, Stafford led an NFL-record eight fourth-quarter comebacks and an NFL-record eight game-winning drives to get the Lions over .500 for the season. They finished 9-7.
Without those record drives and comebacks, the Lions were staring at a 1-15 record.
While fans might be familiar with NFL Films’ “mic’d up” capture of Stafford’s game-winning touchdown pass vs. the Browns in 2009 with a separated shoulder, or his famous “Clock it! Clock it!” fourth-quarter comeback vs. the Cowboys in 2013, they might be less familiar with his sustained dominance in the clutch over his career.
Stafford has produced seven seasons with four or more game-winning drives — the most in NFL history.
He ranks third all time in career postseason passer rating at 102.3, trailing only Hall of Fame quarterback KURT WARNER (102.8) and two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes (105.4).
Matthew Stafford shines in postseason spotlight
On the road in the postseason, Stafford ranks No. 1 in NFL history in both passer rating (100.0) and adjusted net yards per passing attempt (7.75; minimum 200 passing attempts).
In the 2021 divisional playoff, on the road, against Tom Brady and the favored 14-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Stafford completed 28 of 38 (73.7%) passes for 366 yards (9.6 YPA), three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), zero interceptions, and a 121.2 passer rating. His 44-yard strike to Cooper Kupp with 0:27 left in the fourth quarter was the driving force behind the signature game-winning drive of his career.
If under normal circumstances, the magic well would have run dry by this point, Stafford didn’t get the memo. He went on to lead fourth-quarter comebacks in both the NFC Championship Game vs. the San Francisco 49ers and in Super Bowl LVI vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
On the game’s biggest stage, with time winding down late in the fourth quarter, Stafford appeared completely unfazed, firing a game-winning touchdown pass to Kupp with 1:25 remaining.
He ended the season not only as a Super Bowl champion but also as the first — and to-date only — NFL player to reach 6,000 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes and win a Super Bowl in the same season.
If a quarterback’s value is judged by how far he can elevate a football team’s won-loss record above expectation, Stafford’s 2016 ranks among the greatest seasons in NFL history.
If your measure is whether a quarterback can play elite football over an entire season then deliver in clutch moment after clutch moment win a championship, Stafford eviscerated all doubt in 2021.
Stafford’s career hasn’t fallen at either extreme of the “team support” spectrum. He hasn’t been another version of Archie Manning, showcasing toughness and flashes of greatness over a decade of chaos. Nor has he followed JOE MONTANA, backed by Hall of Fame talent on both sides of the ball to become the face of a dynasty.
What Stafford has achieved isn’t a simplified tale of stats or rings; it’s a testament to resilience, adaptability and quiet, under-recognized excellence in a league that often overlooks anything that doesn’t live up to the narrative of choice.
He has defied expectations, lifted teams above and beyond their potential, and delivered in the moments that separate the good quarterbacks from the great ones. His numbers already place him among the game's greats, and his ascent up the all-time ranks continues.
At 59,809 career passing yards, he sits 4,280 yards from eclipsing Dan Marino (61,361), Matt Ryan (62,792), Philip Rivers (63,440) and Ben Roethlisberger (64,088).
Depending on how much further Aaron Rodgers (62,952) climbs, it’s possible Stafford retires ranked in the Top 5 or Top 6 in most career categories, joining the exclusive company of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Rodgers at the top.
And it’s the path he took to get there — fighting through adversity, carrying limited rosters to respectable heights and maximizing the few seasons when he enjoyed support — that sets him apart in a league that often is driven as much by circumstance as by skill.
Stafford’s legacy isn’t built on hype, flash or a system that made things easier. It has been built on grit, elite-level execution under pressure and a career defined by doing more with less — until finally, in 2021, he got the chance to show what he could do with more.
Whether measured by raw production, clutch performance, or impact on team success, Stafford belongs in the conversation with the game’s best.
History might have taken time to recognize his excellence, but now there’s no denying it.
Matthew Stafford career timeline
2009
- Youngest player in NFL history to throw for over 400 yards in a game (422 on 11/22/09 vs. Browns: 21 years, 288 days)
- Youngest player in NFL history to throw for five or more touchdown passes in a game (five on 11/22/09 vs. Browns: 21 years, 288 days)
2010
- Threw six touchdown passes to only one interception in three games of action.
- Highest passer rating vs. the 2010 New York Jets defense, min. 30 attempts (94.7 on 11/7/10)
2011
Lions franchise records:
- Passing completions (421)
- Passing attempts (663)
- Passing yards (5,038)
- Touchdown passes (41)
- Finished the season 15 yards shy (2,838) of the NFL single-season record for passing yards on the road (2,852: Drew Brees in 2011)
2012
- NFL season record for pass attempts (727)
- Led the NFL with 435 pass completions, the most in NFL history by a quarterback not named Drew Brees or Peyton Manning.
- Completed 34 of 49 passes (69.4%) for 352 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 101.7 passer rating in a 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
- Drew Brees: 468 (2011).
- Peyton Manning: 450 (2010).
- Drew Brees: 448 (2010).
- Drew Brees: 440 (2007).
- Matthew Stafford: 435 (2012).
2013
- Finished third in the NFL in passing yards (4,650)
2014
- Led the Lions to an 11-5 regular season record
- Led the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks (five) and game-winning drives (five)
- Finished Top 10 in passing yards (4,257) and interception-percentage (2.0%)
- Pro Bowl MVP
2015
- In the final 11 games of the season: 272 of 397 (68.5%) for 3,057 yards, 26 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 107.8 passer rating
- Led the Lions to a 6-2 record in the final eight games of the season
2016
- Set NFL season records for fourth-quarter comebacks (eight) and game-winning drives (eight)
2017
- Led the NFC in passing yards (4,446) and passing first downs (210)
- Led the NFL in game-winning drives (four)
2018
- On the road: 183 of 267 (68.5%) for 1,919 yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 101.0 passer rating
2019
- Set career-high marks in passer rating (106.0), Total QBR (71.3), yards per passing attempt (8.6), adjusted yards per passing attempt (9.12), net yards per passing attempt (7.64) and adjusted net yards per passing attempt (8.15)
2020
- Led the NFC in fourth-quarter comebacks (three) and game-winning drives (four)
2021
- Super Bowl champion
- Set Rams records for pass completions (404) and passing yards (4,886) in a season
- Tied Rams record for touchdown passes in a season (41; Kurt Warner, 1999)
- Including the postseason, Stafford completed 502 passes for 6,074 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes, becoming only player to date with 6,000 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes and a Super Bowl win in the same season
2022
- Completed a career-best 68 percent of his passes
2023
- Pro Bowl selection
- In the final seven games of the season: 168 of 248 (67.7%) for 2,072 yards (8.3), 17 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 111.1 passer rating, including Wild Card game vs. the Lions
2024
- Led the NFC in game-winning drives (five)
Ryan Michael is a sportswriter, a statistician for KOA’s “Broncos Country Tonight” and a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can follow him on X (@theryanmichael) and on “Broncos Country Tonight”.
This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting noteworthy quarterback play over the past 80 seasons. Information from Pro-Football-Reference.com’s database helped make the research possible.
More of this series
- Analysis: Charlie Conerly’s giant accomplishments hold up as eras pass
- Y.A. Tittle’s journey from San Francisco to New York
- Analysis: An appreciation of Sammy Baugh’s historic 1943 season
- Legendary seasons for Sid Luckman, Peyton Manning separated by 70 years
- Looking back at TB12’s historic 2011 season 12 years later
- Russell Wilson’s decade of dominance in Seattle remains elite
- Roger Staubach’s 1971: The greatest season you’ve never heard about
- Silver anniversary: Randall Cunningham’s solid gold season with Vikings
- 50 years since Unitas’ last pass: Some things you might not know about No. 19
- Race to the top: Brady’s battle with Brees for the NFL’s most hallowed record
- Analysis: Did Andrew Luck exceed hype or fall short?
- Silver anniversary of John’s Elway’s sterling final game
- As cold as ice: Perception of Matt Ryan’s legacy after ‘28-3’
- Cam Newton leads high-flying 2015 Carolina Panthers
- Peyton Manning’s four-year rodeo in Mile High City
- Dan Marino eclipsed long-standing TD record 40 years ago
- Analysis: Quarterbacking excellence can continue after Big 4-0
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