Matthew Stafford and the rest of the Rams offense got off to a dismal start on Monday night against the Falcons. The 37-year-old made a rare mistake early into the second quarter, throwing a pick six to Jessie Bates III which gave Atlanta a 14–0 lead.
The interception was a throw Stafford will wish he had back, as he overshot a leaping Konata Mumpfield with a pass that went off the receiver’s fingertips.
JESSIE BATES III BACK THE OTHER WAY 💨
— ESPN (@espn) December 30, 2025
Falcons lead 14-0 over the Rams on ESPN and the ESPN App 👀 pic.twitter.com/SQeaJrmM2A
Later in the second quarter, Stafford threw his second pick of the game, though that one at least didn’t get returned to the end zone. Those two picks bring him to seven interceptions on the year.
The pick six was a historic one for Stafford, too. It marked the 32nd pick six Stafford’s thrown in his career, which ties Brett Favre for the most all time.
Stafford, in 238 career games in the regular season, has now thrown 195 interceptions in his career. 32 of those, or 16.4%, have been returned for interceptions. For comparisons sake, Favre, who threw the most interceptions of any player in NFL history, had 336 picks in 306 games. Less than 10% of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Stafford and Favre are the only players in NFL history with more than 30 pick sixes. Behind them on the all-time leaderboard are Dan Marino (29), Joe Namath (28), Drew Brees (27), Peyton Manning (27) and the recently un-retired Philip Rivers (26). No other player since 1950 has more than 23.
Bates’s pick six was the second interception returned for a touchdown against the Rams this season. In L.A.’s game against the Panthers in Week 13, the only other game in which Stafford had multiple interceptions this year, he threw a pick to Michael Jackson which was returned 48 yards for a touchdown.
Not only did Stafford’s ill-fated throw tie him with Favre in the history books, it also put a dent in his MVP campaign. Stafford entered the night as the favorite to win the award, but after his two picks in the first half, New England’s Drake Maye has overtaken him on top of the odds sheets.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Matthew Stafford Made Unfortunate NFL History After Throwing Pick Six vs. Falcons.
