Matthew Stafford took his fourth loss of the season this past Sunday, and while any defeat stings, this one pushes him to the edge of an absolutely wild NFL record. His career tally of 122 losses as a starting quarterback is now the second-most in league history. Yeah, you read that right. He is sitting on a record he absolutely doesn’t want, but one that tells a huge story about his career.
The Unwanted Countdown To NFL History
Right now, Stafford’s career record stands at 122-122-1. Those 122 losses put him just one “L” away from tying Vinny Testaverde, who holds the top spot with 123 career losses (from a 90-123-1 record). Think about that for a second. One more game where his team doesn’t get the W, and Stafford is side-by-side with Testaverde at the top of a list no QB dreams of leading. If he takes two more losses, the record is all his, and honestly, it’s gonna be a long, long time before anyone else even sniffs it.
A Strange Club of Legends
So, who else is up there on this infamous list? It’s a who’s who of some seriously talented signal-callers, which is the truly wild part of this whole thing. The next ten quarterbacks on the all-time losses list are *all* retired: Eli Manning with 117, Drew Brees with 114, Brett Favre with 112, Philip Rivers with 109, Matt Ryan with 109, Fran Tarkenton with 109, Archie Manning with 101, Warren Moon with 101, Norm Snead with 100, and Kerry Collins with 99. These are Hall of Fame guys, Pro Bowlers, franchise legends. It speaks to a crazy paradox in the NFL: to lose 100-plus games, you have to be good enough to actually *start* 100-plus games. A truly terrible quarterback gets benched or cut long before racking up those kinds of numbers. Stafford’s longevity and his ability to keep getting starting gigs for so long is what makes this record even possible.
Keep an eye on those Sunday scores. The moment Matthew Stafford takes his next loss, NFL history is getting rewritten, whether he likes it or not.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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