DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford became the fastest player to eclipse 40,000 passing yards in NFL history on Sunday with a 36-yard completion to Danny Amendola in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings.
Stafford needed 87 yards entering the day to reach the mark, which he did in game No. 147 of his career. That's four better than the former record-holder, Matt Ryan, who passed the 40,000-yard mark in 151 games.
Stafford, after that reception, had 40,010 career passing yards.
"When you step back and look at stuff like that, I think it's pretty amazing," Lions coach Matt Patricia said last week. "I think it goes to his resiliency and his drive and his competitiveness that he shows every single day.
"We were just having a conversation and comparing some notes on Minnesota; it just takes me back a minute every single time that he and I have those conversations of just how hard this guy works, how competitive he is, how much he wants to win, how much he just continually leads this team. That's why when you hear something like that or a stat like that, you're like, 'It's super impressive and it's super amazing,' but I also kind of step back and I look at it and I go, 'Yeah, that's about right,' because that's just who this guy is."
He's the only quarterback to accomplish the feat in under 150 games and only the sixth to do it in under 160 games, joining Ryan, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers.
Stafford, who also holds multiple other fastest-to markers (15,000 yards; 20,000; 25,000; 30,000), is No. 21 on the NFL's all-time passing list with Johnny Unitas next at No. 20 with 40,239 yards and Joe Montana at No. 19 with 40,551.
Stafford, 31, shrugged off the milestone last week, which is basically how he's handled almost every accolade he's hit in his career.
"I hope 40,000 isn't the last number I hit," Stafford said earlier this week. "I'd like to keep playing and play well. The biggest thing for me is I just want to get the bad taste out of my mouth of losing two in a row. I just want to win a game.
"If I throw for 86 and we win, I'll be happy as hell."