Matthew Stafford has regained his aggressiveness from 2021 and it’s making a huge difference
Matthew Stafford had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022, throwing only 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in nine games played. It was partly due to the constant shuffling along the offensive line, but his elbow injury and lack of practice in the offseason certainly played a factor, too.
The good news is that Stafford is fully healthy now and looks like the quarterback we saw in 2021 when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl. It’s only been two weeks but Stafford has been excellent for the Rams, despite throwing just one touchdown pass and two picks.
One thing that’s returned to his game is the aggressiveness he showed throughout his career in Detroit and with the Rams in 2021. Once again, Stafford is pushing the ball down the field and making big throws to his receivers rather than checking down and taking shorter passes.
According to Next Gen Stats, Stafford ranks ninth in the NFL in intended air yards (8.3), which measures how far down the field a quarterback throws on average. Last year, Stafford had the fifth-lowest average intended air yards (6.7) in the league. His play this year is much more in line with 2021 when he averaged 8.5 intended air yards, which was eighth-best in the NFL.
He’s completing deep passes at a much higher rate, too. According to Pro Football Reference, he’s averaging 6.7 completed air yards per completion this season versus 4.7 in 2022; in 2021, his rate was 6.8, so similar to this year.
No quarterback in the NFL has attempted more throws that have traveled at least 10 yards down the field, either. According to FantasyPros, Stafford’s 31 attempts of 10-plus yards ranks first in the NFL and his seven attempts of 20-plus yards are tied for the sixth-most.
Just look at his passing charts from the first two games, which show how aggressive Stafford has been thus far.
It helps that Stafford is getting plenty of time in the pocket, so he’s been able to see the field well and allow routes to develop. When he was under constant pressure last year, he was forced to take shorter completions and simply get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible.
This is all without Cooper Kupp on the field, too. While Kupp is by no means a deep threat, he does have the ability to stretch the field vertically down the seam because he’s such a good route runner.
Stafford looks comfortable and confident in the pocket, and the result is a far more efficient and explosive offense. That’s certainly encouraging to see, even if it is just two games into the season.
