Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has a lot of proponents across the NFL and will likely be a Hall of Famer when is career is over. Stafford is 10th all time in passing yards with 59,809. He is 10th all time in passing touchdowns. Stafford has a Super Bowl ring; including three game-winning drives in the Los Angeles Rams 2021-2022 playoff run. But there are two other categories that stand out about the signature play of Matthew Stafford. And he is closing in Tom Brady for those records…
4th Quarter Comebacks
Stafford currently sits in a tie at fourth with Matt Ryan with 38 career fourth quarter comebacks. Tom Brady is first with 46. That may seem like a large gap but with the increase in regular season games, Stafford is going to have an opportunity to overtake this record in the next two seasons. If Stafford plays in all 34 regular season games, he will need to record a 4th comeback once approximately every four games.
QB Matthew Stafford on Rams' dramatic comeback over 49ers: "NFL is an improbable business"https://t.co/iQOcFtpPr3 pic.twitter.com/tkqXA1fnMJ
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) September 23, 2024
The Rams 2025 schedule should feature a lot of opportunities for Stafford. Facing a first place schedule means Stafford will have to earn wins against the likes of the: Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, and of course a physical NFC West division.
As a Ram, Stafford has 7 4th quarter comebacks.
Game-Winning Drives
As for game-winning drives, Stafford is 5th all-time with 49. Brady is in first place at 58. Stafford racked up five game-winning drives in 2024. So if he can replicate that type of season over the next two years, he would overtake the former Patriot and Buccaneers quarterback.
Matthew Stafford really threw a no-look pass on the game-winning drive in the Super Bowl.
Cooper Kupp: “That was probably the best no-looker of his life. I saw the lane and he fit it right in there.”
So gutsy and so awesome. pic.twitter.com/lRVGgAvyzk— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 14, 2022
Stafford has 11 game-winning drives in 57 games with the Rams. That’s roughly one game-winning drive every five games. If Stafford wants to overtake Brady, he will need to showcase a little more frequent magic in 2025 and 2026.
Milestones & Numbers
- One more 4th quarter comeback will give Matthew Stafford sole possession of 4th place all-time; breaking a tie with Matt Ryan
- One more GWD will give Matthew Stafford 50 for his career
- Brady averaged 2.00 4th quarter comebacks per season; Matthew Stafford averages 2.38 per season
- Brady averaged 2.52 game-winning drives per season; Matthew Stafford averages 3.06 per season
