THE GAME. THE STORIES. THE WHY.
Independent football coverage●Our standards
EXPLOREPower rankingsLeague leadersTeam statsInjuriesTransactionsShortsRivalriesRecordsBye weeksEVENTSSuper BowlPro BowlCombineDraftPlayoffsWeb StoriesALL FOOTBALL. ALL IN.
WEEK 7
Find your next read

Search whynfl

Go deeper on the game you love.

News

Interactive: Matthew Stafford, 282 and 155 — the first quarterback to own the touchdown record at two franchises, step by step

4 min read Comments
Share ↗
WhatsApp Facebook X
Saved articles

Your reading list is saved on this browser.

Your reaction

Scroll through Matthew Stafford's record day in Las Vegas: three touchdown passes to pass Roman Gabriel, the Rams' all-time list, 12 seasons and 282 touchdowns in Detroit, the trade and Super Bowl LVI, his 2026 game log and where 437 ranks in NFL history.

w.
WhyNFL Sports DeskPublished
Matthew Stafford in 2020
Matthew Stafford in 2020. Photo by All-Pro Reels, CC-BY-SA-2.0, resized.
Matthew Stafford in 2020Matthew Stafford in 2020, his last season with the Detroit Lions. Photo by All-Pro Reels, resized.
WhyNFL Interactive

Matthew Stafford, 282 and 155: the first quarterback to own the touchdown record at two franchises

An 11-yard throw to Puka Nacua in Las Vegas gave Stafford his 155th touchdown pass as a Ram, one more than Roman Gabriel. He already held Detroit's record. Scroll through both careers, season by season, and where 437 puts him among the all-time greats.
Allegiant Stadium in Las VegasAllegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, February 2024. U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo, resized.
Chapter 1

Three throws in Las Vegas

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, at Allegiant Stadium. Stafford started the day two touchdown passes behind Roman Gabriel’s franchise mark and passed it before halftime.

  1. 3-yard touchdown to tight end Davis Allen. No. 153 as a Ram
  2. 5-yard touchdown to Allen again ties Gabriel at 154
  3. 11-yard touchdown to Puka Nacua, a Las Vegas native, for No. 155 and the record
  4. Rams lead 28-6 on the way to a 35-21 win
0/29completions for Stafford
0passing yards
0touchdown passes, with one interception
0Rams rushing yards on 38 carries
SoFi Stadium during a Rams playoff gameRams host the Cardinals in a wild-card game at SoFi Stadium, January 17, 2022, the first step of their Super Bowl run. Photo by PontiacAurora, resized.
Chapter 2

The Rams' list

Gabriel threw 154 touchdown passes for the Rams from 1962 to 1972, a mark that stood for more than half a century. Stafford needed 81 games to pass him. Gabriel played 130.

Rams career touchdown passes

Matthew Stafford, 2021-26155
Roman Gabriel, 1962-72154
Jim Everett, 1986-93142
Marc Bulger, 2002-09122
Norm Van Brocklin, 1949-57118
Jared Goff, 2016-20107
Kurt Warner, 1998-2003102
0games for Stafford to reach 155
0games Gabriel played for the Rams
Ford Field in DetroitFord Field in Detroit. Photo by Mikerussell, resized.
Chapter 3

Twelve seasons in Detroit

Detroit drafted Stafford first overall in 2009. He left 12 seasons later with 282 touchdown passes, still the Lions’ record, including a 41-touchdown season in 2011.

Touchdown passes with the Lions, by season

200913
20106
201141
201220
201329
201422
201532
201624
201729
201821
201919
202026
0touchdown passes for Detroit, the franchise record
0passing yards with the Lions
Chapter 4

The trade and a title

In early 2021 the Lions sent Stafford to Los Angeles for Jared Goff, a 2021 third-round pick and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. A year later he had a ring.

  1. 41 touchdown passes in his first Rams season
  2. Rams beat Cincinnati 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium
  3. Nine games, 10 touchdowns in an injury-shortened year
  4. League-leading, career-best 46 touchdowns and his first MVP award
  5. No. 155 passes Gabriel

Touchdown passes with the Rams, by season

202141
202210
202324
202420
202546
2026 (7 games)14
Puka Nacua at Rams training campPuka Nacua at Rams training camp at UC Irvine on July 31, 2023. Photo by Sewageboy, resized.
Chapter 5

2026, game by game

The record arrived in an uneven season. The reigning MVP has 1,989 passing yards, 11 short of 2,000, with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and the Rams are 3-4.

Stafford touchdown passes, 2026

vs SF, L 27-70
vs NYG, W 28-64
at DEN, L 30-262
at PHI, W 24-200
vs BUF, L 37-34 OT3
vs ARI, L 18-162
at LV, W 35-213
“I thought our coaches did a great job of giving us a plan that we felt great about coming in here to execute.”
— Matthew Stafford after the win in Las Vegas
Chapter 6

437 and counting

Add the two franchises together and Stafford has 437 regular-season touchdown passes in 18 seasons. That is sixth in NFL history, and among active players only Aaron Rodgers, who passed Peyton Manning in Paris, has more.

Career touchdown passes, NFL history

Tom Brady649
Drew Brees571
Aaron Rodgers540
Peyton Manning539
Brett Favre508
Matthew Stafford437
0career touchdown passes
0career passing yards
0franchises where he holds the touchdown record

No quarterback had held the career touchdown record for two franchises before Sunday. Stafford now has 155 for the Rams and 282 for the Lions, and every touchdown he throws this season adds to the newer mark.

Next up is the 2,000-yard line: he is 11 yards from it after seven games, with the Rams at 3-4.

The why matters.

See something that needs a second look? Read our corrections policy.

Join the conversation

Use a name or stay anonymous. No account or email required. Comments are reviewed before appearing.

Up to 3,000 characters

No published comments yet. Start the conversation.