Rams’ Stafford Has Seven More Shots at Making History

In just nine games last season, and with a shorthanded offensive line for the majority of that time, Rams QB Matthew Stafford was battered, bruised, and eventually knocked out for the year with a spinal contusion in Week 11.

Nevertheless, the 35-year-old struggled even when healthy in 2022, as he finished with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine games.

The NFL community questioned if his career had officially started to end, but he’s looked back to his old self so far this season. The 15-year veteran surpassed Peyton Manning in Week 2 by having the third-most passing yards (52,723) within his first 200 games.

However, there’s one issue with that statement: Stafford has only played in 193 career games, meaning he has seven more opportunities to go further in the record books.

Former quarterbacks Matt Ryan (second) and Drew Brees (first) are the only players in NFL history that stand in his way. Ryan threw for 54,349 yards within 200 games, which is 1,626 more than Stafford.

That being said, Stafford will need to average about 232 yards over the next seven games to slide up-and-over the 2016 NFL MVP. He’s averaged a staggering 345.5 yards over the first two games of the season, so it’s very likely that he surpasses Ryan—especially with All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp expected to be back within a couple of weeks.

Stafford will need 2,626 more yards to surpass Brees as the all-time leader. He’ll need to average about 375 yards per game over the Rams next seven matchups, which is unlikely but not impossible.

Heading into the season, the Rams were widely expected to finish 2023-24 near the bottom of the league.

However, this young and inexperienced group dominated the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 and lost by just seven points to the San Francisco 49ers, who are realistic Super Bowl contenders, this past Sunday. If the Rams continue to shock millions, their quarterback should be able to as well.