The Saturday news that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has agreed with the team to part ways probably shocked the football world.
But when you consider it from this perspective, perhaps it’s not such a surprise.
Matthew Stafford’s 45,109 passing yards and 282 Pass TD are the most by a player without a playoff win in NFL history.
His 74 wins as a starting quarterback is tied for the 4th most without a postseason win only trailing Jim Hart, Steve Grogan and Roman Gabriel. https://t.co/1Yg7jK2z7G
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 23, 2021
Stafford’s Lions teams have made the playoffs just three times, and he’s been the franchise quarterback since 2009. In that timespan, Stafford ranks fifth in passing attempts (6,224), sixth in completions (3,898), seventh in passing yards (45,109), seventh in passing touchdowns (282), and fifth in interceptions (144), tied with Drew Brees. Stafford has been a high-volume quarterback in several different offensive systems that didn’t always play to his strengths.
Over the last two seasons, Stafford has become a bit of a forgotten man when it comes time to discuss the league’s better quarterbacks. He was rolling at a near-MVP clip in the 2009 season before he missed half the season with a back injury, completing 64.3% of his passes for 19 touchdowns, just five interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.0. In the 2020 season, Stafford completed 64.2% of his passes for 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and a passer rating of 96.3, which was completely obstructed by the Matt Patricia-led circus the franchise had become. When people are too busy making fun of your team’s defense, they tend to overlook your attributes as a quarterback.
But it could easily be argued that Stafford’s last two seasons have been among his best, and this is why any team in need of a quarterback over the next 3-5 years should be more interested in offing their first-round pick to the Lions as opposed to rolling the dice on any draft-ready quarterback not named Trevor Lawrence. Unless, of course, you can grab Deshaun Watson for a bag of Big League Chew and a couple of fifth-round picks in one of the Texans’ weirder moments.
Outside of that, we’re talking about a guy who can still define a franchise — now and in the future. Stafford will turn 33 next month, and the way things are going in the NFL today, that could give him a full decade left in the league, playing at a high level. Let’s dig into the stats and the tape, and investigate just how good Stafford still is.