Matthew Stafford was hurried, harassed and hobbled against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but that did not stop the quarterback from making history, and leading another game-winning drive.
With a 26-yard connection with Puka Nacua on the opening drive, Stafford became just the 11th player in NFL history to eclipse 53,000 yards passing. Stafford hit this milestone in his 195 game as a professional.
It was the first pass attempt of the game for Stafford, who needed just 8 passing yards to reach the milestone. He eclipsed 53,000 passing yards with that connection and then proceeded to battle through a hip injury to throw for 297 more yards and the game-winning touchdown in the Rams’ 29-23 overtime win against the Colts.
In the opening drive with a 26-yard pass to WR Puka Nacua, QB Matthew Stafford has eclipsed 53,000 career passing yards. He is the 11th player in NFL history to hit this milestone. #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/0KZPWPPo8c
— Los Angeles Rams PR (@TheLARamsPR) October 1, 2023
Of those 53,000-plus yards 45,109 came when Stafford was a member of the Detroit Lions, where he spent the first 12 seasons of his career.
Despite the historic milestone, it has been an up-and-down season for the Rams starting quarterback. Through four games, he has just three touchdowns to five interceptions, with three of those interceptions directly the cause of tipped passes or dropped balls by the intended receivers.
Stafford is averaging a shade over 307 yards through the air in the first four games of the season — his highest total per game during his three seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
With just 3,713 more passing yards, Stafford will pass Eli Manning and move into the top 10 in total passing yards in NFL history. If he keeps up his current pace this season, Stafford would surpass Manning in the final game of the regular season against division rivals San Francisco 49ers.
Despite completing the game and earning the win, Stafford was noticeably hobbled through much of the second half, and the severity of that injury is currently unknown.
