In his best game of the season, Matthew Stafford shows why he earns all that money. The next step is to show it in the postseason.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — His simplest throw of the night may have been his biggest. At the least, it was Matthew Stafford’s timeliest. Because the Detroit Lions were running out of time.
To get back into playoff contention. To remind themselves who they could be. To make a statement.
To show they can survive when they’re on the road in the league’s most iconic stadium, and the ghosts of Green Bay are howling, and the young quarterback wearing green and gold is starting to believe.
Stafford faced that and when he snapped the ball with a tick under 10 minutes left in the game Monday night. He faced his own expectation, too.
In a season that began with him signing the richest contract in NFL history, the face of the Lions hadn’t given the franchise a signature game yet this season.
Last week, against Pittsburgh, he came close. The yards were there. As were all those impossible throws between the 20s. He just couldn’t make a play in the red zone and the Steelers scratched out a victory.
So, there he was, early in the fourth quarter, dropping back on second down a couple of minutes after Green Bay’s backup quarterback, Brett Hundley — starting in place of an injured Aaron Rodgers — had guided the Packers on a 78-yard touchdown drive that cut the Lions’ lead to 10.
A three-and-out could lead to real trouble, not to mention more noise from the crowd. And more pressure. And, well, the weight of all that unpleasant Lambeau Field history, a place where the Lions had won once since 1991.
Once.
Make it twice.
Mostly because of what happened next.
Stafford took the snap, waited for his lineman to slip out into the flat and form a wall for running back Theo Riddick, then tossed it over the rumbling behemoths and into Riddick’s arms. He turned upfield, saw open grass, and sprinted for 63 yards.
The Lions scored two plays later, on another ho-hum, for Stafford, back-shoulder parabola that fell into Marvin Jones hands.
Actually, that’s not fair to Jones, who leapt and stretched to grab it. He slithered into the corner of the opposite end zone on the Lions’ first drive of the night, and snatched a similarly acrobatic touchdown.
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Still, the throw. It was gorgeous. As so many of Stafford’s passes were Monday.
“He can sling it anywhere,” said Jones. “You just have to be there to catch it. When he’s on, there’s no other quarterback I’d rather play with.”
You’d be right to question Jones’ objectivity. After all, he likes to catch passes.
Yet skepticism undercuts how casually brilliant Stafford can be, and how good he is at his best.
Last week he looked nimble for the first time in a while. He looked even springier Monday night. The bye week clearly helped.
“I feel a whole lot better physically,” Stafford said. “That week was huge for me.”
The next step is to start winning in the playoffs. The Lions have to get there first. To get there this season, they had to beat the Packers.
Stafford understands what’s at stake this season. And he understands the postseason is where he will define his legacy.
Right now, though, he’d rather talk about anyone but himself, in particular his receivers.
“Those guys on the outside where winning,” he said, referring to Jones, Golden Tate and the rest of his receivers and tight ends who consistently got open against the Packers. “When we can spread people out and use a bunch of weapons like we did tonight, we are at our best.”
It helps, too, when Stafford gets time to deliver them the ball. Green Bay sacked him once, on a slow-developing flea-flicker. Even then, he had a receiver streaking down the left sideline.
The hiccups in the offense aren’t the result of a singular struggle. It has been everyone:
The offensive line missing blocks. The running backs missing blitzes. The receivers missing passes. The quarterback missing receivers. Or holding onto the ball too long.
Against Green Bay — yes, they were diminished in Rodgers’ absence — everyone improved.
“It’s nothing magical,” said Lions coach, Jim Caldwell. “They’ve been practicing well the last couple of weeks.”
On nights like Monday, it’s easy to see how good Stafford can be when the parts are working around him. Or when the other team isn’t very good. I’m not sure.
Either way, the Lions have lost too many times when they should’ve won. Heck, they did this the previous game against Pittsburgh.
Finally, they played to their expectation. And Stafford played to his, which means the Lions will play another relevant game Sunday.
At this point, that’s what matters.
More: Lions report card: Matthew Stafford, WRs stellar vs. Packers
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.
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