Stafford, with another Thanksgiving start under his belt, will join Troy Aikman as the only quarterbacks with 10 career starts on Thanksgiving, according to NFL Network's Rich Eisen. On Thanksgiving Day, Matthew Stafford joins @TroyAikman as the only quarterbacks with ten career starts.
He's made three straight starts this season, after missing two games due to a knee injury. "I think he's done a good job of taking care of the football," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "I think he's been efficient with the ball, which you want from your quarterback."
Stafford has also seen his share of criticism this year, including from former teammate Larry Fitzgerald who called him out last week.
“He’s got a lot of confidence in himself, that’'true, but at the same time he doesn’t play like it,” Caldwell said. "There are times when he makes some poor decisions with the football and turns it over, which is not something we want from our quarterback. But overall I think he’s done a good job of taking care of the football.
This year's Thanksgiving game will be the first meeting between Detroit and Arizona since 2014 when the Cardinals beat the Lions 38-35 at University of Phoenix Stadium. The two teams have now met twice this season with each team winning one game.
Matthew Stafford is the Lions franchise's all-time leader in all things quarterback. His 2,634 total completions, 30,303 passing yards, 187 passing touchdowns, and 86.8 passer rating are the most totals for any Lions quarterback. He's also the only quarterback in team history with three seasons of at least 4,000 passing yards (Stafford led the league in that category in 2013 with 4,046 yards).
Stafford was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player after he threw for 5,038 yards and 46 touchdowns while completing 62.5 percent of his passes in 2014. The Lions missed the playoffs for the second straight year despite Stafford having one of the best seasons by a quarterback ever. In 2015, he broke the single-season record for passing yards again with 5,071 yards, and he also threw 41 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
Stafford has been voted into seven All-Pro teams during his career, including five first-team selections. He's the only quarterback in NFL history with multiple 50-touchdown seasons and with at least four games with four or more touchdown passes.
Stafford is also known for his leadership skills. He's the only player in NFL history with three consecutive 200-yard games before the regular season starts, and he's the only quarterback in NFL history with multiple 400-yard games in a season.
Has seven times finished in the top ten in throwing yards. In 2017, he became only the second quarterback in history to pass for at least 4,000 yards in seven consecutive seasons. Stafford finished his career 16th all-time in throwing yards with 45,109, and he was in the top 10 in the NFL in that statistic in seven of his 12 seasons. He is also third all-time in touchdown passes with 289.
Stafford has been named to the Pro Bowl after each of his first six seasons in the league. He was selected as the MVP of the 2011 NFL Season after passing for 3,725 yards while completing 65 percent of his passes. The Lions went 11-5 that season and reached the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
Stafford is one of just eight quarterbacks in NFL history to start their career with at least 20 victories before losing their last game as a starter. He joins Joe Kapp (Chicago Bears), Ken Anderson (Detroit Lions), Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh Steelers), Jim Plunkett (Kansas City Chiefs), Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins), John Elway (Denver Broncos), and Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers) as the only quarterbacks in this category.
He is also one of three quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 15 wins in each of their first five seasons (Marino and Favre are the others).
Stafford has been ranked No. 1 by his fellow players on several occasions.
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