Rams’ Matthew Stafford hits milestone

Inglewood, CA (News4usOnline) – When it comes to throwing the football, Matthew Stafford is one of the best ever to do it at the NFL level. 

By the time the Los Angeles Rams quarterback decides to trade in his football cleats for a pair of house slippers or beach sandals, history will judge him as an all-time great. 

Well, actually, Stafford may have already reached that plateau after going past the 60,000 yards passing mark in a 14-9 win by the Rams against the Houston Texans on the first weekend in September. 

Stafford completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown throw to tight end Davis Allen. 

Stafford is just the 10th player in NFL history to pass for 60,000 yards or more in a career. Officially, Stafford now has 60,054 passing yards. After the game, Stafford reflected on his historic milestone and what it means to him. 

“It brings back a lot of memories,” Stafford said during a postgame press conference.  “I’ve been blessed to play this game for a long time with a bunch of great players. The cool thing about quarterback and my thought about it is, I can’t throw for any of those yards without all 10 players on the field, 10 other guys that are doing their job. It’s really cool. I share it with so many people and so many teammates and a bunch of coaches and my family and everybody that’s helped me get there.”

Stafford is already a legend in Rams fandom, having guided Los Angeles to a Super Bowl win against the Cincinnati Bengals a couple of years ago. Stafford spent his first 12 years in the league starting at quarterback for the Detroit Lions. This is his fifth season with the Rams. 

Rams head coach Sean McVay thought Stafford looked great against a tough Houston defense. 

“I thought Matthew Stafford was in great command all day,” McVay said. “They were obviously an excellent rush. They did a good job of being able to apply pressure where we can do a better job in some different situations but he came up with clutch play after clutch play. I thought he was seeing the field really well. It was really awesome for him to go over 60,000 yards. That’s unbelievable.”

What’s also unbelievable is that Stafford suited up and played. Thanks to a sore back and trying to rectify the problem, Stafford did not practice or take reps during training camp in the summer. 

His status of playing in the season-opener for the Rams had to be delicately thought out and strategically planned by McVay and the team’s medical staff. The week leading up to the game against the Texans, Stafford was a full go in practice.  

McVay didn’t see any lingering effects of what Stafford had to tussle with over the summer. 

“He looked pretty good to me,” McVay said. “He took some shots and popped back up. I don’t know if the stats will necessarily reflect it in terms of a bunch of yards. This guy was in total command today. I thought he played excellently. He kept the ball out of harm’s way.” 

One way that Stafford played keep away from the Texans was by putting the ball in Puka Nacua’s hands. Of the 21 passes he completed, 10 of those tosses landed in Nacua’s hands, including the throw that sent Stafford beyond the 60,000 passing yards threshold. 

“He’s a special player,” Stafford said of Nacua. “He’s a special person on our team. His game comes to life on Sundays. He goes out there in practice and he’s working. He is doing all this stuff. He’s making plays and all that, but when it becomes tackle football is when Puka Nacua’s game comes to life. We’re really blessed to have him as a player, but as a person too, and as a competitor.”

Featured Image: Inglewood, CA – Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards and a score in a 14-9 win against the Houston Texans on Sept. 7, 2025. Photo credit: Mark Hammond / News4usOnline