In his 16th season, Matthew Stafford must prove to skeptics that he can win another playoff game
For Matthew Stafford to cement his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks of the 21st century, he has to win another playoff game. Or two. Four would be ideal.
Otherwise, history might just say that Stafford was a fantastically talented quarterback who maybe just got “lucky” in the playoffs one year and that was it.
If that feels unfair, it’s also half-true and half-mostly true. Stafford is among the most talented quarterbacks of all-time, he did have to play lights out in 2021 in order for the Rams to win four playoff games, including the Super Bowl, and L.A. also had its share of fortunate moments that postseason.
And here we sit, 16 YEARS into one of the most prolific careers of all time and Stafford has only won playoff games in 1 of his 15 seasons prior to 2024.
Speaking of prolific:
- 59,510 passing yards ranks 10th all-time
- 376 passing touchdowns ranks 10th all-time
- 270.5 passing yards per game ranks 5th all-time
- 48 game-winning drives ranks 5th all-time
Let’s take something like passing touchdowns and compare Stafford’s playoff record and the number of different seasons in which he won a playoff game to the rest of the top-10.
Because it’s important for a quarterback, the leader of the team, to take multiple different iterations of his team, over different seasons and levels of difficulty, to help prove to people and Hall of Fame voters that he was always a part of the solution. Think of it like a video game and you have to beat all the unique bosses to get to the end.
This is where Stafford still needs to catch up to the “Hall of Very Good” quarterbacks like Ryan and Rivers:
Tom Brady, 649 TDs: 35-13 playoff record, won a playoff game in 16 different seasons
Drew Brees, 571 TDs: 9-9 playoff record, won a game in 7 different seasons
Peyton Manning, 539 TDs: 14-13 playoff record, won a game in 6 different seasons
Brett Favre, 508 TDs: 13-11 playoff record, won a game in 9 different seasons
Aaron Rodgers, 498 TDs: 11-10 playoff record, won a game in 7 different seasons
Philip Rivers, 421 TDs: 5-7 playoff record, won a game in 4 different seasons
Dan Marino, 420 TDs: 8-10 playoff record, won a game in 7 different seasons
Ben Roethlisberger, 418 TDs: 13-10 playoff record, won a game in 6 different seasons
Matt Ryan, 381 TDs: 4-6 playoff record, won a game in 3 different seasons
Stafford, 376 TDs: 4-4 playoff record, won a playoff game in 1 individual season
Even Eli Manning, with 366 career touchdowns and only six trips to the postseason in his career, won two Super Bowls by going 4-0 in each of those campaigns.
And I think every Rams fans who reads this, no matter how much you respect and appreciate how good Stafford is and what he’s done for the team, also wants to see him go out there and prove himself with another deep playoff run before he calls it a career.
He will never get a better chance than the three regular seasons games (Jets, Cardinals, Seahawks) and whatever happens in the playoffs if they get there, than right now. He’s got Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Sean McVay, a good offensive line, and what every quarterback wants in December:
An opportunity.
He seized it three years ago. Now he must do it again.
