GREEN BAY – Just last week, quarterback Matthew Stafford moved into the top 10 on the NFL's all-time list for passing yards with 57,025, and the only active QB with more is the Packers' former four-time MVP, Aaron Rodgers (59,904).
So on Sunday in Los Angeles as Stafford makes his 22nd career start against Green Bay, the most of any active opposing QB, it's a good time to review the marks he's posted in that time – records for Green Bay opponents he's putting out of reach for a long, long time.
During his career with the Lions and now Rams, Stafford has thrown 40 TD passes against Green Bay and is just 24 passing yards from 6,000. Those numbers far outpace anyone else.
Johnny Unitas threw 34 TD passes against the Packers (in 23 starts), and Fran Tarkenton had 33 (in 28). The only active QB in the top five is Kirk Cousins with 23 TD passes, in 11 games, and the only other active QB with even a dozen TD passes against the Packers is Jared Goff. So Stafford's total there is plenty safe.
Assuming he gets those 24 passing yards to reach 6,000 against the Packers, that's not likely to be touched anytime soon either. No one else ever hit 5,000 (Tarkenton had 4,978) and the only active QB over 3,000 is Cousins (3,010).
This is Stafford's fourth season with the Rams, but it's just his second start for LA against Green Bay because he was injured for both the 2022 and '23 matchups.
In this one, he'll be without his top two receivers in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, but the Packers are taking nothing for granted with Stafford under center.
"They still got the guy delivering the football that's one of the best in the business," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "He can make any throw. He's tougher than crap. He can stand in there, he can take a beating. We have to make sure we get after him as best we can."
Back when Stafford made his first start against Green Bay, as a rookie on Nov. 26, 2009, at Lambeau Field, Packers QB Jordan Love had just turned 11 years old.
Love couldn't remember the first time he watched Stafford play on TV, but there's always been a level of admiration for the nuances of QB play in his game. Love got to meet Stafford this past offseason and enjoyed chatting ball.
"Talk about a guy that can do a lot of things with eye manipulation, no-look passes, put the ball on the money," Love said. "Definitely got a lot of respect for him."
More familiarity: Seeing his brother Mike on the opposing sideline is nothing new to LaFleur, as this will mark the eight time the brothers will coach against one another. Mike is the Rams offensive coordinator.
The meetings began in 2017, when Matt was the Rams offensive coordinator and Mike was the 49ers passing game coordinator and receivers coach. They split those two games.
As head coach of the Packers, Matt has seen Mike on the opposing sideline with the 49ers, Jets and Rams. All told, Matt's record is 3-4.
Rams head coach Sean McVay obviously has a strong connection with both LaFleurs.
His friendship with Matt goes back to 2012 when they were on Washington's offensive staff together, and when McVay became the league's youngest ever head coach at age 30 in 2017 with the Rams, he hired Matt as his offensive coordinator.
"We grew up in this game together, I would say," LaFleur said. "It was a lot of fun, and there were some less-than-fun moments, too, as you can imagine. When you're really close with somebody, it's like two brothers at times wanting to fight each other. At the end of the day, he is like family to me."
This will mark their fifth head-to-head meeting as head coaches, and LaFleur and the Packers have won the first four, beginning with the 2020 NFC Divisional playoff. All four of the previous matchups have been at Lambeau Field. This is the first meeting in LA.
"I don't even really think about it, to be honest with you," LaFleur said. "It's the next game. This league, I think the longer you're in it, the smaller it is because you get to know everybody. So, inevitably, you're going to go against somebody that you really care about, typically, on a weekly basis."
Tides to turn: Speaking of streaks, there are two random ones the Packers have a chance to end Sunday.
One is the franchise's current six-game losing streak when playing for the first time in any given stadium. The streak reached six when the Packers lost to the Eagles at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil, back in Week 1, and it dates back to when the Packers first appeared at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as the Vikings' first regular-season opponent there in 2016.
The other defeats in the stadium-debut streak were at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carlson, Calif., against the Chargers in '19, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in '22, and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas last year.
Green Bay's last win when making its stadium debut anywhere was at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., against the 49ers in 2015. That win ended a 7-2 run in stadium debuts from 2007-15 and put the Packers' record in such games at 15-8 over the last 30 years, but the mark now stands at 15-14.
The other streak the Packers would like to end is their run of futility against the Rams in Los Angeles, which dates back to the Lombardi era.
Green Bay's last win over the Rams in LA came way back in 1966. The Rams haven't resided in LA the entire time since then, having moved to St. Louis for quite a stretch. But the Packers lost 11 straight to the Rams in LA from 1967-91, and then lost again when returning to face the Rams there in 2018.
