It didn’t take long in the Week 7 game against the Minnesota Vikings for Lions QB Matthew Stafford to etch his name into the NFL record book. When Stafford hit Danny Amendola for 36 yards up left sideline in the first quarter, No. 9 in Honolulu Blue became No. 1 in the race to 40,000 career passing yards. No player has ever reached the lofty production mark faster than Stafford.
Stafford accomplished the feat in his 147th career game. That tops Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan — one of Stafford’s best friends — by four games. It’s also faster than notables such as Drew Brees (152 games), Dan Marino (153) and Aaron Rodgers (154). Rodgers was the last of the 20 QBs prior to Stafford to hit the historic mark.
By the end of the season, Stafford will climb over Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana and Kerry Collins on the career passing yardage list.
