John Elway vs Matthew Stafford

John Elway

0of 3 lines

Matthew Stafford

3of 3 lines

John Elway and Matthew Stafford compared on their NFL careers: John Elway played 16 seasons, 1983 to 1998, Matthew Stafford 18 seasons, 2009 to 2026. John Elway has 51,475 passing yards to Matthew Stafford's 65,705. John Elway won 2 titles, Matthew Stafford won 1 title.

Who has the better career numbers?

Matthew Stafford leads in 3 of the 3 lines, John Elway in 0. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

John Elway and Matthew Stafford career totals
234GP243
51,475YDS65,705, better
300TD429, better
7.1AVG7.4, better

How do they compare in the playoffs?

John Elway and Matthew Stafford postseason
22GP13
4,964, betterYDS3,932
27, betterTD25
7.6AVG8.1, better

Where each stands all time

John Elway and Matthew Stafford all-time places
12th (51,475)Passing yards6th (65,705), better
15th (300)Passing touchdowns6th (429), better

Among the NFL players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

John Elway and Matthew Stafford titles and awards
2, betterChampionships1
1MVP1
1, betterSuper Bowl MVP—
—Comeback Player of the Year1, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

John Elway and Matthew Stafford season by season
YDS: Yards gained through the air, on the ground or after a catch, whichever this table counts.TD: Touchdowns, worth six points before the extra point.INT: Interceptions — thrown away by a quarterback, taken by a defender.YDS: Yards gained through the air, on the ground or after a catch, whichever this table counts.TD: Touchdowns, worth six points before the extra point.INT: Interceptions — thrown away by a quarterback, taken by a defender.
1st19831,663714, better20092,267, better13, better20
2nd19842,598, better18, better15201053561, better
3rd19853,891222320115,038, better41, better16, better
4th19863,4851913, better20124,967, better20, better17
5th19873,1981912, better20134,650, better29, better19
6th19883,309171920144,257, better22, better12, better
7th19893,051181820154,262, better32, better13, better
8th19903,526151420164,327, better24, better10, better
9th19913,253131220174,446, better29, better10, better
10th19922,242101720183,777, better21, better11, better
11th19934,030, better25, better1020192,499195, better
12th19943,490161020204,084, better26, better10
13th19953,9702614, better20214,886, better41, better17
14th19963,328, better26, better1420222,087108, better
15th19973,63527, better1120233,965, better2411
16th19982,80622, better1020243,762, better208, better
17th————20254,707468
18th————20261,18966

What the columns mean: INT