Playing at a high level across an impressive 17-year NFL career has allowed Matthew Stafford to accumulate a number of noteworthy stats as he climbs the league’s all-time leaderboards.
But there is also a downside.
In his 238th start Monday, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback threw the 32nd pick-six of his career. Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III intercepted one of his throws in the second quarter and took it the other way to put the home team up two scores in the early going.
According to ESPN Insights, Stafford tied Brett Favre for the most pick-sixes in NFL history with the interception.
It is fitting company, as Favre was known as a gunslinger who never hesitated to fit throws in between tight windows against opposing defenses. It was part of what made him great, but it came back to bite him at times during his 298 starts.
Favre’s 10,169 passing attempts rank third all-time and behind only Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Stafford entered Monday’s game sixth on that list with 8,685 passing attempts.
The historical pick-six wasn’t his only interception of the first half, as Xavier Watts also picked him off on a deep ball on an ensuing possession.
It was a start to forget for Stafford, and he found himself in an unfortunate spot in the NFL history books as a result.