After spending more than a decade with the Detroit Lions, Matthew Stafford has become known for his lack of wins against good teams. Not only is he winless in the playoffs, but he hasn’t exactly won big games, either.
That changed on Monday night, though. With a severely short-handed roster that was missing six starters in total, Stafford delivered with a 30-23 win over the Cardinals, who were leading the league at 10-2.
Stafford completed 23 of 30 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns, helping carry the offense to victory with arguably his best performance yet. Incredibly, this was his first win against a team with at least 10 wins, going 0-9 in such games before tonight.
He was also 0-17 against teams that were five-plus games above .500 and only 10-70 against teams with a winning record.
Matthew Stafford is 0-17 against teams that are/were 5 games above .500.
Matthew Stafford is 0-9 against teams that have/had 10 wins.
Matthew Stafford is 10-70 against teams with a winning record.
The Cardinals are 10-2.
Will he start changing the narrative tonight?
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) December 13, 2021
It’s only one game, but Stafford is showing his struggles in Detroit were probably more about the team than his individual efforts. With the Rams, he’s surrounded by a great supporting cast and a creative offensive-minded head coach who knows how to get the most out of his quarterback.
Stafford could have two more opportunities against teams with 10-plus wins this season when the Rams visit the Ravens and host the 49ers in the final two weeks. Baltimore is 8-4 and the 49ers are 7-6, so they’ll need a few more wins to reach 10 victories before facing the Rams.
For a player who didn’t play in many important games with the Lions, there’s a case to be made that this was the biggest win of his career, given the circumstances and where it fell on the Rams’ schedule.
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