John Matthew Stafford was born on February 7,1988 and is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League.
88 Facts About Matthew Stafford
2.
Matthew Stafford played college football at Georgia and was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft.
3.
Matthew Stafford led the Lions to two further playoff runs in 2014 and 2016, earning himself Pro Bowl honors during the former and setting an NFL season record for most comeback wins in the latter.
4.
Matthew Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida to John and Margaret Matthew Stafford.
5.
Matthew Stafford lived in Dunwoody, Georgia, while his father attended graduate school at the University of Georgia.
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Matthew Stafford has one sibling, an older sister named Page.
7.
Matthew Stafford was coached by Randy Allen and was widely considered to be one of the best high school quarterbacks in the United States in the Class of 2006, ranked ahead of Tim Tebow.
8.
Matthew Stafford had over 4,000 yards passing despite not playing in the first three games of the season due to a knee injury.
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Matthew Stafford received numerous accolades, including being named to the Parade All-America Team and the USA Today Pre-Season Super 25 in 2005.
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Matthew Stafford won the MVP and Best Arm awards at the 2005 EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback Camp and was named the 2005 EA Sports National Player of the Year.
11.
Matthew Stafford graduated early from high school and enrolled at the University of Georgia in January, where he became the first true freshman quarterback to start for the Georgia Bulldogs football team since Quincy Carter in 1998, and first out of high school to start since Eric Zeier in 1991.
12.
Matthew Stafford completed five of 12 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown in a Georgia spring game.
13.
Against University of Alabama Birmingham the following week, Matthew Stafford made his first collegiate start.
14.
Matthew Stafford finished with 1,749 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
15.
Matthew Stafford connected with senior wide receiver Mikey Henderson on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage in overtime for the winning score.
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Matthew Stafford completed 194 of 348 passes for 2,523 yards and 19 touchdowns as well as two rushing touchdowns for the season.
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Matthew Stafford finished fifth in the SEC in pass completions and sixth in passing touchdowns.
18.
Matthew Stafford was chosen to Athlon Sports preseason Heisman Favorites Others To Watch list.
19.
Matthew Stafford helped lead them to victories in their first four games to move the winning streak to 11.
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Matthew Stafford finished the season with a conference-leading 235 pass completions for 3,459 passing yards, the second most in school history, and 25 touchdowns, the single-season record for passing touchdowns.
21.
Matthew Stafford led the SEC in pass attempts and passing completions while finishing third for passing touchdowns.
22.
Matthew Stafford chose to forgo his senior season and entered the 2009 NFL Draft.
23.
Matthew Stafford eventually did, and on April 24,2009, agreed to record contract terms with the Detroit Lions to become the first overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, one day before the draft was held.
24.
Matthew Stafford became the fourth player out of Georgia to be the first overall selection in the draft and the first since Harry Babcock in 1953.
25.
On September 6,2009, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz announced that Matthew Stafford would be the Lions' starting quarterback heading into the season.
26.
Matthew Stafford was the first Lions rookie quarterback to start in Week 1 since Greg Landry in 1968.
27.
Matthew Stafford completed 16 of 37 passes for 205 yards and three interceptions.
28.
Matthew Stafford recorded his first win as a Lion in the next game against the Washington Redskins.
29.
Matthew Stafford concluded his rookie season having passed for 2,267 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.
30.
The Lions announced that Dr James Andrews had performed surgery on Matthew Stafford's throwing shoulder, which included an AC joint repair and a clavicle shaving.
31.
Matthew Stafford won the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week for his performance.
32.
In Week 10 against the Bears, Matthew Stafford threw four interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns on consecutive drives.
33.
Matthew Stafford was fined $7,500 for his role in the brawl.
34.
Matthew Stafford became the first quarterback since at least 1950 to win back to back games after trailing by at least 20 points, the first to win three games in a season after trailing by at least 17 points, and the first to win four games in a season after trailing by at least 13 points according to STATS, LLC.
35.
Matthew Stafford became the first player in Lions' franchise history to have two games in a single season with at least five passing touchdowns.
36.
Matthew Stafford was named a Pro Bowl alternate for the NFC after the 2011 NFL season.
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Matthew Stafford was later named the 2011 Pro Football Weekly Comeback Player of the Year, AP Comeback Player of the Year, and NFL Alumni Quarterback of the Year.
38.
Matthew Stafford was ranked 41st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.
39.
Matthew Stafford finished the season with a league-leading 435 pass completions for 20 touchdown passes, significantly less compared to the 41 touchdowns he passed for in the 2011 season; 17 interceptions, one more than 2011, and second most in his career since his rookie season; 4,967 passing yards on 727 attempts ; and a QB rating of 79.8, the lowest since his rookie season.
40.
Matthew Stafford rushed for a career-high 126 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 35 carries.
41.
On July 7,2013, Matthew Stafford agreed to a three-year, $53 million extension with the Lions.
42.
Matthew Stafford set a record for completions over 50 games at 1,214, over Marc Bulger's 1,115.
43.
Matthew Stafford finished second in career 300-yard passing performances through 50 games at 19, trailing Warner's 29.
44.
Matthew Stafford finished the 2013 season with 4,650 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions.
45.
Matthew Stafford accomplished the feat in his 71st game, breaking Dan Marino's mark of 74.
46.
Matthew Stafford finished the 2014 season with 4,257 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, to go along with a QB rating of 85.7.
47.
Matthew Stafford threw 323 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the loss.
48.
On January 19,2015, it was announced that Matthew Stafford was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl, his first Pro Bowl appearance.
49.
Matthew Stafford would be replacing Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos, due to a quad injury.
50.
On December 13,2015, in Week 14 against the St Louis Rams, Matthew Stafford reached 25,000 passing yards in his 90th career game, becoming the fastest quarterback to reach this milestone, surpassing the previous record held by Dan Marino of 92 games.
51.
Matthew Stafford became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 60 percent or more of his passes in all 16 games.
52.
Matthew Stafford finished the 2015 season with 4,262 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
53.
Matthew Stafford started the 2016 season off with a strong performance against the Indianapolis Colts.
54.
On December 11,2016, Matthew Stafford broke Peyton Manning's NFL record of most fourth quarter comebacks in a season with eight.
55.
Matthew Stafford passed for 206 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in the loss.
56.
Matthew Stafford became the fastest player in NFL history to reach the 30,000 career passing yards milestone.
57.
Matthew Stafford became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 30,000 in their first eight seasons.
58.
Matthew Stafford was ranked 31st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.
59.
In Week 2, on Monday Night Football, Matthew Stafford threw his 193rd career touchdown pass in a win over the New York Giants, passing Bob Griese for 48th on the all time touchdown pass list.
60.
Matthew Stafford led the NFC in passing yards in 2017.
61.
Matthew Stafford was ranked 31st by his peers for the second consecutive year on the list of the Top 100 NFL Players of 2018.
62.
Matthew Stafford helped lead the Lions to consectuive wins over the next two games against the Chargers and Eagles.
63.
In Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, Matthew Stafford reached 40,000 passing yards in his 147th career game, becoming the fastest quarterback to the reach the milestone.
64.
On November 10,2019, Matthew Stafford missed his first game since 2010, ending his streak of 136 consecutive regular-season starts.
65.
Matthew Stafford's streak was the sixth-longest for a quarterback in league history.
66.
On December 18,2019, Matthew Stafford was placed on injured reserve after missing the previous six games and the Lions missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
67.
At the time of his shutdown, Matthew Stafford was well on pace for a impressive statistical season.
68.
Matthew Stafford had passed for 2,499 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions in eight games.
69.
Matthew Stafford made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.
70.
On November 7,2020, Matthew Stafford was removed from the COVID-19 list after he came back negative for the virus and was cleared for the Lions week 9 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
71.
Matthew Stafford made his return from injury in the following week's game against the Washington Football Team.
72.
On March 18,2021, Matthew Stafford was traded to the Rams in a package involving Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick and two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.
73.
Matthew Stafford made his Rams debut during Sunday Night Football against the Chicago Bears.
74.
Matthew Stafford set franchise records for pass completions, pass attempts, and passing yards and tied Kurt Warner's mark for passing touchdowns in a single season.
75.
Matthew Stafford completed 31 out of 45 passes for 337 yards, two passing touchdowns, and an interception in the game.
76.
Matthew Stafford passed for the second-most yards in a single postseason with 1,188.
77.
Matthew Stafford became the first quarterback since Eli Manning to lead a fourth-quarter comeback in a Conference Championship and a Super Bowl in the same playoff season.
78.
Matthew Stafford became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 6,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in the regular season and postseason combined all while leading a team to a Super Bowl victory in the same season.
79.
Matthew Stafford was ranked 27th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2022.
80.
On March 19,2022, Matthew Stafford signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Rams.
81.
Matthew Stafford tied Drew Brees as the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach the mark.
82.
Matthew Stafford was put in concussion protocol following the Rams week 9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he missed the Rams week 10 game against the Arizona Cardinals.
83.
Matthew Stafford was placed on injured reserve on December 3,2022.
84.
In nine games, Matthew Stafford finished with 2,087 passing yards, ten touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
85.
At Georgia, Matthew Stafford met cheerleader Kelly Hall, the sister of former NFL player and current Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers coach Chad Hall.
86.
Matthew Stafford underwent a 12-hour surgery on April 17,2019.
87.
Matthew Stafford took time off from being with the Lions, as training camp started up shortly after Kelly's surgery.
88.
In 2018, Matthew Stafford was the Lions' Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.