Two quarterbacks. Two franchises. One trade that changed the direction of both.
Matthew Stafford left Detroit for a Los Angeles team seeking the final piece of a championship run. Jared Goff went the other way, joining a Lions organization that needed to rebuild its identity. Their careers since the exchange offer a more interesting question than simply asking who won the trade: what happens when talented quarterbacks trade circumstances?
1. The Rams Years: Same Franchise, Different Paths
Five completed seasons apiece provide a useful starting point. But equal seasons do not mean equal playing time: Stafford started five more regular-season games.
| Regular-season statistic | Goff, 2016–20 | Stafford, 2021–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | 69 | 74 |
| Team record in his starts | 42–27 | 46–28 |
| Winning percentage | 60.9% | 62.2% |
| Passing yards | 18,171 | 19,407 |
| Passing touchdowns | 107 | 141 |
| Interceptions | 55 | 52 |
| Passing yards per start | 263.3 | 262.3 |
| Passing TDs per start | 1.55 | 1.91 |
| Interceptions per start | 0.80 | 0.70 |
| TD-to-interception ratio | 1.95 | 2.71 |
| 4,000-yard seasons | 2 | 2 |
| Seasons with at least 30 passing TDs | 1 | 2 |
The yardage comparison changes when playing time is considered. Goff actually averaged slightly more passing yards per start. Stafford’s advantage was not greater yardage volume every Sunday; it was more touchdown production and fewer interceptions per start.
Stafford threw 34 more touchdowns despite only five additional starts. That is the stronger statistical argument for his Rams tenure.
Season-by-season Rams production
Records below represent team results in the quarterback’s starts, not necessarily the franchise’s full-season record.
| Quarterback | Season | Starts | Starting record | Pass yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goff | 2016 | 7 | 0–7 | 1,089 | 5 | 7 |
| Goff | 2017 | 15 | 11–4 | 3,804 | 28 | 7 |
| Goff | 2018 | 16 | 13–3 | 4,688 | 32 | 12 |
| Goff | 2019 | 16 | 9–7 | 4,638 | 22 | 16 |
| Goff | 2020 | 15 | 9–6 | 3,952 | 20 | 13 |
| Stafford | 2021 | 17 | 12–5 | 4,886 | 41 | 17 |
| Stafford | 2022 | 9 | 3–6 | 2,087 | 10 | 8 |
| Stafford | 2023 | 15 | 9–6 | 3,965 | 24 | 11 |
| Stafford | 2024 | 16 | 10–6 | 3,762 | 20 | 8 |
| Stafford | 2025 | 17 | 12–5 | 4,707 | 46 | 8 |
There is an important coaching distinction inside Goff’s five-year sample. His seven-start rookie season preceded Sean McVay.
During Goff’s four Rams seasons under McVay, Los Angeles went 42–20 in his regular-season starts, a 67.7% winning percentage. That does not erase Stafford’s championship advantage. It does show why describing Goff’s entire Rams tenure as a failed experiment would be misleading.
Stafford’s 2025 season also deserves more emphasis in this comparison: 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His Rams argument extends beyond the championship he delivered immediately after the trade.
2. The Lions Years: Production Versus Transformation
Stafford’s Detroit tenure lasted 12 seasons. Goff’s completed Detroit sample covers five. Raw totals therefore need to sit alongside per-start rates.
| Regular-season statistic | Stafford, 2009–20 | Goff, 2021–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | 165 | 82 |
| Team record in his starts | 74–90–1 | 48–33–1 |
| Winning percentage* | 45.2% | 59.1% |
| Passing yards | 45,109 | 21,451 |
| Passing touchdowns | 282 | 149 |
| Interceptions | 144 | 47 |
| Passing yards per start | 273.4 | 261.6 |
| Passing TDs per start | 1.71 | 1.82 |
| Interceptions per start | 0.87 | 0.57 |
| TD-to-interception ratio | 1.96 | 3.17 |
Winning percentage counts a tie as half a win.
Stafford generated more passing yards per start in Detroit. Goff produced a slightly higher touchdown rate and a substantially lower interception rate.
That distinction sharpens the debate. Stafford’s Lions résumé leads in passing volume; Goff’s leads in ball security and team winning percentage. Neither finding, by itself, measures the quality of the surrounding roster.
Detroit’s season-by-season starting records
| Season | Stafford | Goff |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2–8 | — |
| 2010 | 1–2 | — |
| 2011 | 10–6 | — |
| 2012 | 4–12 | — |
| 2013 | 7–9 | — |
| 2014 | 11–5 | — |
| 2015 | 7–9 | — |
| 2016 | 9–7 | — |
| 2017 | 9–7 | — |
| 2018 | 6–10 | — |
| 2019 | 3–4–1 | — |
| 2020 | 5–11 | — |
| 2021 | — | 3–10–1 |
| 2022 | — | 9–8 |
| 2023 | — | 12–5 |
| 2024 | — | 15–2 |
| 2025 | — | 9–8 |
| Tenure total | 74–90–1 | 48–33–1 |
Goff’s Detroit story should include the 2025 regression as well as the rise. The Lions followed their 15-win 2024 season with a 9–8 finish, even as Goff threw for 4,564 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
That season reinforces the article’s central caution: strong quarterback statistics do not automatically produce the same team outcome every year.
3. The Playoffs: Separate Appearances From Starts
Goff has appeared in 10 playoff games but started nine. He entered the Rams’ 2020-season wild-card victory over Seattle after starter John Wolford left the game.
That victory belongs in an account of Goff’s postseason contributions, but it should not be counted as a win in a game he started.
Postseason passing through the 2025 season
| Statistic | Goff | Stafford |
|---|---|---|
| Games played | 10 | 13 |
| Starts | 9 | 13 |
| Team record in his starts | 4–5 | 7–6 |
| Passing yards | 2,450 | 3,932 |
| Passing touchdowns | 9 | 25 |
| Interceptions | 5 | 7 |
| Completion percentage | 61.2% | 63.8% |
| Yards per attempt | 7.0 | 8.1 |
| NFL passer rating | 85.1 | 100.4 |
| Super Bowl victories | 0 | 1 |
Passing totals include every postseason appearance, including Goff’s relief appearance.
Stafford’s postseason advantage is broader than the championship alone. He leads in touchdown production, yards per attempt and passer rating.
But the franchise split explains why the Detroit portion remains competitive.
| Quarterback and franchise | Playoff games / starts | Starting record | Pass yards | TD–INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goff, Rams | 6 / 5 | 2–3 | 1,300 | 4–2 |
| Goff, Lions | 4 / 4 | 2–2 | 1,150 | 5–3 |
| Stafford, Lions | 3 / 3 | 0–3 | 908 | 4–3 |
| Stafford, Rams | 10 / 10 | 7–3 | 3,024 | 21–4 |
Stafford averaged 302.7 passing yards per playoff game with Detroit and 302.4 with Los Angeles. Nearly identical yardage accompanied radically different team results.
His touchdown-to-interception performance improved from 4–3 with the Lions to 21–4 with the Rams. The lesson is not that circumstances explain everything, but that yardage alone explains very little.
4. Through Week 9 of 2026: Compare the Rates
| Statistic | Goff | Stafford |
|---|---|---|
| Starts | 8 | 9 |
| Team record | 6–2 | 5–4 |
| Passing yards | 2,134 | 2,374 |
| Passing TDs | 15 | 16 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 9 |
| Passing yards per start | 266.8 | 263.8 |
| Passing TDs per start | 1.88 | 1.78 |
| Interceptions per start | 0.25 | 1.00 |
| TD-to-interception ratio | 7.50 | 1.78 |
Stafford’s additional start explains his lead in total yardage. On a per-start basis, Goff holds a narrow advantage in both passing yards and touchdowns.
The larger separation is ball security: two interceptions in eight starts for Goff, compared with nine in nine starts for Stafford.
These are current-season rates, not projections or a substitute for the completed-career comparison.
S³ Verdict: The Championship Edge, the Detroit Counterargument
Stafford owns the stronger Rams postseason résumé. His advantage includes a championship, seven playoff wins as a starter and substantially better postseason passing efficiency.
Goff owns the stronger Detroit team-results résumé. Across his first five completed Lions seasons, Detroit won more frequently in his starts than it did during Stafford’s tenure, while Goff paired a higher touchdown rate with fewer interceptions per start.
Neither finding makes the quarterbacks interchangeable. Stafford arrived in Los Angeles as an established veteran expected to finish a championship project. Goff arrived in Detroit as a younger quarterback expected to help rebuild one.
The most defensible conclusion is not that one franchise won every part of the trade. It is that Los Angeles secured the championship upgrade it sought, while Detroit acquired a quarterback who became a central part of its revival.
Methodology and Sources
Completed-tenure comparisons stop at the end of the 2025 season; the 2026 section is separate. Per-start rates normalize opportunity. They are not a comparison of each quarterback’s first identical number of starts, nor an adjustment for teammates, opponents or coaching. Team records describe results in a quarterback’s starts, not wins attributable to that player alone.
Sources: Jared Goff career and postseason statistics, Matthew Stafford career and postseason statistics, and Rams official Stafford statistics.
