Matthew Stafford seems to be enjoying the second act of his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams.
His team is 9-4 following a win Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals and thus right back in the mix for the top spot in the NFC playoff race.
Stafford has always been someone who put up great stats.
But his Detroit Lions teams were never very good and the stats ended up being rather pointless in the bigger picture.
That is not the case this season and Stafford finally being on a good team allowed him to overcome a personal hurdle Monday night.
Matthew Stafford collects his first-ever win against an opponent who entered at least 5 games above .500.
His 0-17 mark entering Monday was the worst by any quarterback in the Super Bowl era.#MNFStats pic.twitter.com/6w4cjowjef
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 14, 2021
The win marked the first time Stafford ever took down a team who was at least five games over .500.
Such a win in general is difficult, but the fact he was 0-17 against such teams was a shocking mark.
Playing on a contender in the Rams is helping change the narrative of Stafford’s career.
An Important Victory
Stafford threw three touchdowns Monday night to get the Rams to 9-4 and one game behind the Cardinals in the NFC West.
They are also one game back of first in the NFC, which currently features a tie atop the conference between Arizona, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay.
This angle of Stafford finding Kupp for the TD 🤩
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/an8SsLqWys
— ESPN (@espn) December 14, 2021
The Rams started 7-1 and proceeded to lose three in a row.
While that streak did seem to be a bad omen, every in the NFL has at least three losses this year.
Parity is reigning supreme and the Rams now have four games to climb back atop the conference.
Stafford should have high expectations in 2021 with the Rams.
But just getting over the small hurdle of beating a team with such a great record for the first time in his career should be something he celebrates.
The goal now is winning a playoff game for the first time.
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