Matthew Stafford hits 40,000: 40 memorable moments (part II)

19. Three magical weeks (Fall, 2014)

 vs New Orleans: Lions trail 23-10 with under four minutes left. Touchdown passes from Stafford to Golden Tate (73 yards) and Corey Fuller (5 yards), as well as a timely Glover Quin interception of Drew Brees lift them a 24-23 win.

vs Atlanta (in London): Lions trail 21-0 at halftime at Wembley Stadium, then spend the second half chipping away at the lead. Getting into field goal range in the final seconds, Matt Prater hooks his game winning field goal attempt outside the posts, then gets a second chance to put it away as the Lions commit their first ever game winning penalty. Prater nails take two, setting off a wild celebration (and a confused Wembley crowd) as Detroit wins 22-21.

vs Miami: Trailing in the final minute yet again, Stafford sends a side-arm to Theo Riddick on a wheel route, connecting in the back of the end zone for a 20-16 win. With three thrilling comeback wins in a row, the Lions improved to 7-2 on the season, building momentum for what would be their best season in two decades.

20. Stafford passes 20,000 yards (Nov. 16, 2014)

Finding new favorite receiver Golden Tate for a 30 yard pass against Arizona, Stafford crossed the twenty thousand threshold in only 71 career games. This game matched the 7-2 Lions against the 8-1 Cardinals in a battle for the NFC’s top position through ten games.

Detroit fell 14-6, and ironically enough, the winning quarterback for the day was former Lions third stringer Drew Stanton, in for the injured Carson Palmer.

You can view moments #21-30 in Matthew Stafford’s journey to 40,000 passing yards by clicking here.