Whenever Matthew Stafford decides to retire, he’ll go down as arguably the best quarterback in franchise history for two teams.
That was true before his performance on Sunday, as the Rams beat the Raiders. But Stafford helped solidify that status by passing Roman Gabriel as the team’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns.
He’s now the first player in the modern history of the league to hold a franchise record in passing TDs for two separate franchises, as he left Detroit as that team’s all-time leader in the category.
“Just super appreciative of all the guys that have helped me do that,” Stafford said in his postgame press conference on Sunday. “Catching touchdowns and throwing touchdowns isn’t a one-man job, it takes a lot of people to block and get open, and coaches to draw plays. A cool thing, didn’t really know that was going to happen today, but fired up.
“It just means you’re old and you’ve played a lot of ball,” Stafford later added. “You wore yourself thin enough at a certain place where they moved on. No, but it’s a cool thing, and I touched on it a bit earlier. My name’s in there, but so many coaches, players, teammates just had so much to do with that, and so I appreciate all those guys. It’s been a heck of a ride, enjoy doing what I do, still love it, and look forward to doing some more.”
When Stafford departed the Lions in early 2021, he had 282 touchdown passes, well ahead of Bobby Layne, who was No. 2 at that time with 118. But since then, Jared Goff has advanced to No. 2 in Lions franchise history with 163. It stands to reason that Goff could surpass Stafford eventually if the quarterback’s career continues on its current path.
Goff is No. 6 in Rams passing touchdowns at 107. Roman Gabriel (154), Jim Everett (142), Marc Bulger (122), and Norm Van Brocklin (118) are between Stafford and Goff on the franchise list.