Lions dealt another painful reminder of Matthew Stafford's Rams ascent

Matthew Stafford's newest ranking is just another nail in the coffin for the Detroit Lions. Stafford came third in ESPN's quarterback rankings, while the quarterback the Lions traded him for, Jared Goff, finished ninth.

Stafford's departure from Detroit was a mutual decision, but reminders like this have to sting a little. In 2021, the Rams and Lions swapped quarterbacks, with two future first-round picks and a 2021 third-rounder going back to Detroit.

While it's fair to call it a win-win trade, only one team has gotten a Super Bowl out of it, thanks in large part to the chasm between Goff and a 38-year-old Stafford put in full focus by the rankings.

Matthew Stafford versus Jared Goff is not a fair comparison

Stafford is coming off an MVP season, making his third spot on the list well-earned. He led the league in passing yards, with 4,707, and touchdowns, with 46. It was only the fourth season in NFL history featuring at least 45 touchdown passes and fewer than 10 interceptions.

An NFL head coach quoted by ESPN said it best: "Nobody played better than him last year, and it wasn't even close."

Goff also had individual success, especially the last two years. In fact, there are only four other quarterbacks in history to have more than 4,500-yard passing seasons than him. Impressive.

"He's going to find a completion if not under pressure," said an NFL coordinator. "Mature pocket passer with a plus arm who can layer the ball at all levels."

In the end, though, Goff's results just don't stack up to Stafford's. While Goff threw for 4,564 yards and 34 touchdowns last season, that pretty stat line did not translate into wins. For the third time in five years since the trade, the Lions failed to make the playoffs.

Individual success doesn't always translate to the team

Both quarterbacks have had their fair share of injuries; there's no score to settle there. With the Lions, Stafford grew increasingly banged up behind a roughshod offensive line. In 2022 with the Rams, he missed the whole second half of the season and sat out 2025 training camp with a back issue.

While Goff got off to a rocky, injury-hindered start with the Lions, once he settled in, he blossomed into his role as a team leader.

The two QBs haven't met head-to-head often over the past five years, but Stafford has the edge, 2-1. To his credit, Goff and the Lions did win the most important battle over Stafford and the Rams in the 2023 NFC Wild Card.

Big-picture, though, there isn't much to debate. Stafford won a Super Bowl in Year 1 with the Rams and has taken them to the playoffs every year he has been healthy, proving that he just needed some talent around him to field a perennial contender.

Goff has more offensive firepower around him than Stafford ever did in Detroit, but he hasn't been able to secure that first-ever Super Bowl. The Lions' two playoff berths under his watch include a trip to the 2024 NFC Championship Game.

Ahead of the 2026 season, the Rams are once again Super Bowl favorites, while the Lions aren't quite in that conversation. Although both franchises won the trade in different ways, Rams fans can undoubtedly thank Detroit for giving them a franchise legend.

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