page_title: Matthew Stafford
section_title: 2015 season
hierarchical_section_title: Matthew Stafford / Professional career / 2015 season
caption_attribution_description: English: Lions at Redskins 8/20/15
context_page_description: John Matthew Stafford is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was raised in Dallas, Texas where he attended Highland Park High School. He then attended the University of Georgia, where he played for the Bulldogs from 2006 to 2008 before being drafted by the Lions first overall in the 2009 NFL Draft.
  Stafford was the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a single season, being one of three players to do it in 2011, and was the fastest player in NFL history to reach 40,000 yards in. Stafford also holds the NFL record for the most comeback wins in a season, recording eight in the 2016 NFL season. In 2017, he signed a US$135-million contract extension with the Lions, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history at the time.
context_section_description: The 2015 season started rough for Stafford and the Lions with a 0–5 start. In the stretch, Stafford passed for six touchdowns and eight interceptions to go along with an average of 241 passing yards per game. The Lions got their first victory against the Chicago Bears in Week 6, with Stafford recording 405 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception in the 37–34 overtime result. In Week 12, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Stafford passed for 337 yards and five passing touchdowns in the 45–14 victory. It was the fourth time in Stafford's career with a five-touchdown game, becoming the tenth player in NFL history to pull off the feat. On December 13, 2015, in Week 14 against the St. Louis Rams, Stafford reached 25,000 passing yards in his 90th career game, becoming the fastest quarterback to reach this milestone, surpassing the previous record held by Dan Marino of 92 games. On December 21, Stafford posted a single-game career high in passer rating, and broke Jon Kitna's single-game franchise record with an 88.0 completion percentage. He completed 22 of 25 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns to give him a career-high 148.6 passer rating in a Week 15 35–27 win over the New Orleans Saints. Stafford became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 60 percent or more of his passes in all 16 games. Despite Stafford's success, the Lions finished with a 7–9 record and missed the playoffs.
caption: Stafford during the 2015 preseason in Landover
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