“It’s Publicized a Little Bit More Recently”: Matthew Stafford Looks Back at His Early No-Look Passes With Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson

No one throws a no-look pass quite like Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford. Every now and then—on Sundays, or even Monday or Thursday nights—you’ll catch one of them pull off a jaw-dropping, backyard-style play, and deliver an incredible throw while looking away from their intended target. And when it connects, it’s nothing short of breathtaking.

The no-look pass has become a recent trend in the NFL, with more and more quarterbacks now utilizing the technique.

Appearing on an episode of the Pardon My Take podcast that was posted on YouTube yesterday, Stafford was asked if he has always had the no-look pass in his arsenal. He said that while it’s become more popularized recently, he’s been using it since his days as the Detroit Lions quarterback.

Back then, Stafford had a favorite target in Calvin Johnson, with whom he had built great chemistry. The star receiver’s six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons until his retirement are proof of that.

So, naturally, most defenses in the NFL tried to break that chemistry by getting clever—but the QB-WR duo stayed one step ahead, using tricks like the no-look pass to keep defenders guessing.

“I think it’s been publicized more recently, but I would say I was probably doing that back in the day with Calvin,” Stafford said.

“Everyone in the building knew I was throwing him the ball, so I had to find different ways of making it seem like I wasn’t throwing him the ball and try to move underneath coverage to move it to him. It’s definitely gotten more publicity recently, but I had to do that with Megatron trying to give him the ball.” 

Even in 2020, when he was a member of the Lions, Stafford gave the exact answer on how he started to develop the no-look pass.

Perhaps Stafford’s most notable no-look pass came in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals. In the fourth quarter, with 3:05 left and the Rams trailing, Stafford hit Cooper Kupp across the middle while looking to his right as the receiver cut left. The play resulted in a first down and helped lead to the Rams’ 23-20 victory, only the second Super Bowl win in franchise history.