Matthew Stafford returns to the stadium where he played most of his career when the Los Angeles Rams visit the Detroit Lions. The Lions selected him with the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. After the 2020 season, Detroit traded the veteran to Los Angeles for QB Jared Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick.
Stafford faced his former team in the 2021 season, but that game was played in Los Angeles. He had a huge outing against the Lions, with 334 pass yards and three touchdowns in the Rams’ 28-19 win.
Matthew Stafford’s Slow Start With Lions
Stafford missed six games as a rookie because of shoulder injuries and needed knee surgery at the end of the season.
The highlight of his rookie season was when he set a rookie record with 422 pass yards in a 38-37 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud broke the record this year with 470 yards.
Also in the game, Stafford became the youngest player in modern NFL history with five touchdown passes. He threw his fifth touchdown pass on the last play of the contest after he injured his non-throwing shoulder on the previous play.
Stafford’s second campaign started with another shoulder injury in the season opener that forced him to miss five games. He returned to play two games, but he reaggravated the shoulder injury and missed the rest of the season.
Stafford Stays Healthy
In 2011, Stafford was able to play all 16 games and helped lead the Lions to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. He won Comeback Player of the Year after throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Stafford played every game from 2011 to 2018 and averaged over 4,465 yards and 27 touchdowns during those eight seasons. He led the Lions to the playoffs twice and earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2014.
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Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson connected for 50 touchdown passes in 75 games between 2011 and 2015, when Johnson retired.
A back injury caused Stafford to miss eight games in the 2019 season, and he finished the season on injured reserve for the third time. In his final year with the Lions, he had 26 touchdowns and ten interceptions as the Lions went 5-11 in 2020.
Stafford Wins Super Bowl With the Rams
In his first season with Los Angeles, Stafford passed for 4,886 yards with 41 touchdowns and a league-high 17 interceptions. The Rams went 12-5 in the regular season and earned a Wild Card spot.
After defeating the Arizona Cardinals, Stafford led game-winning drives in the fourth quarter of the next two games to send the Rams to the Super Bowl. Los Angeles won two games on the road but were able to play the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl in their home stadium: SoFi Stadium.
In the Super Bowl, Stafford led another game-winning drive, connecting with Cooper Kupp for a touchdown in the final 90 seconds. Stafford threw three touchdown passes in the Super Bowl to bring his 2021 postseason total to nine.
Injuries forced Stafford to miss the last seven games of last season with a spinal cord contusion. He earned his second Pro Bowl appearance after throwing for 3,965 yards and 24 touchdowns this year. Stafford only missed one game this season because of an injury.
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