The Detroit Lions didn’t open the 2025-26 season the way that they wanted to, but hopefully it’s just an anomaly and not a sign of things to come. Meanwhile, the team’s former quarterback Matthew Stafford had what was pretty much the best season opener he could have wanted, and he’s showing the NFL that age is just a number.
Stafford, of course, was the Detroit Lions’ franchise quarterback for more than a decade before he left and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. He won a championship his first season in Los Angeles, which was tough to watch, but it’s okay to be happy for his success.
Now, Stafford is coming off a rough offseason due to an injury. But, it didn’t matter, because he had a massive start to this season during the Rams vs. Houston Texans game on Sunday, September 7.
Former Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford Has Huge Game
Stafford really couldn’t be happier after his season opener. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that “Matthew Stafford set an NFL record Sunday for most career opening-day starts for a quarterback with 17.” Schefter adds that, “Until this year, Stafford had started his team’s season opener in all 16 seasons, which tied him with John Elway for the longest streak to being a quarterback’s career. Now it’s his record.”
So, that’s a record that he broke during the game. Stafford also became the 10th player in league history to throw for 60,000 yards. He closed out Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans with 60,054 career yards, according to NBC Sports.
Following the win, Stafford spoke with reporters. He was asked about hitting that 60,000 mark and said that it “brings back a lot of memories.”
Matthew Stafford Says He’s ‘Blessed’
“I’ve been blessed to play this game for a long time with a bunch of great players,” Stafford told reporters. “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 added that “you get in those longevity type places where you’re breaking those kinds of things. It’s not oh, that was a cool year or a cool two years. I mean, it’s been a long time and a lot of people have sacrificed a lot to help me out along the way, and I appreciate each and every single one of them. It’s cool. It’s an amazing thing and I sure as … am glad that we did it getting the win too.”
Stafford’s contract with the Los Angeles Rams is a two-year, $84 million contract, including $8o million guaranteed. Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been serving as the main backup signal-caller to Stafford. With him being on such a short-term deal, many think that Stafford will retire after this season. But, on Sunday he showed that if he does retire, it will be by choice, not because he was forced, because he’s still at the top of his game.
Ex-Lions QB Matthew Stafford Had a Monster of a Season Opener