Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams put together their biggest win of the season thus far against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. With wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp back in the mix, Stafford went 25-of-34 for 279 yards and four touchdowns in a win over the 5-1 Vikings.
But it wasn’t just the win that made the night special, as Stafford also was able to further cement himself as an all-time great in football history. With his second completion of the night — a six-yard pass to Tyler Johnson — Stafford surpassed Miami Dolphins great Dan Marino on the NFL’s all-time completions list.
This puts him at No. 9 all-time. He entered the top 10 earlier this season by passing Eli Manning. And Stafford spoke about what it means to him to continue climbing a leaderboard filled with legends of the game, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk:
“It’s humbling,” Stafford said. “I grew up loving this game, such a big fan of the game, such a big fan of the NFL. All the people who paved the way for us to play it now, nothing but respect for all the guys who did it before me and being able to be in that same breath is a special thing for me.”
Of the eight players above Stafford, the only two eligible to be in the Hall of Fame already are in the Hall of Fame — Peyton Manning (No. 4) and Brett Favre (No. 3) — and the rest are likely to end up there as well.
Stafford now has 4,991 completions after Thursday’s win over the Vikings, and his next target is a moving one. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sits ahead of Stafford, currently with 5,159. Given that he is still playing, both are chasing No. 7 on the list, which is Philip Rivers at 5,277.
Stafford is averaging around 22 completions per game this season. At that rate, he would need about 12-13 more games to surpass Rivers, making it unlikely that he does so this season.
Matthew Stafford would love to be a broadcaster
Matthew Stafford has not indicated when he plans to retire but shut down the possibility in each of the last two offseasons.
Stafford may already be thinking ahead, however, as he expressed interest in becoming a broadcaster after his playing career, via “The Morning After with Kelly Stafford and Hank” podcast.
Stafford got his first taste of a potential broadcasting career during the Rams’ bye in Week 6 as he was a guest host on Fox’s pregame show.
