A young prospect from the University of Georgia, John “Mathew” Stafford served as the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions for twelve seasons. His time in Detroit didn’t yield a Super Bowl Title nor did it yield a single playoff win. This certainly wasn’t all on his shoulders as the Lions were extremely mismanaged during his tenure. Perhaps it’s time to reflect on what went right and what went wrong for the former first overall pick now that he will no longer be wearing the Honolulu Blue and Silver.
Plenty of time has passed since Detroit gambled on Stafford and took him first overall. The Lions had earned their selection by being the first team to lose every single game. Their infamous 0-16 season would leave the young quarterback in a situation where it would be near impossible to thrive. He would arrive to a team with little help on either side of the ball, aside from Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson Jr. From day one there would be pressure from the fans, the organization, and his teammates for Stafford to begin turning things around.
Unfortunately, Mathew would have an injury-riddled rookie season with the Lions. In the games he did play that year, there was a lot to be left desired. A lot of his problems could be attributed to having to adjust to the NFL and a lack of time to throw in the pocket. Stafford would be running for his life in most games, a theme that would be common for a good portion of his career. His rookie season certainly wasn’t spectacular, but there was one moment that stood out compared to all the others. In an afternoon game against the Cleveland Browns, Stafford had a performance that would endure him to the City of Detroit. The game was a back and forth slugfest as Stafford tossed five touchdowns and 422 yards. The crown jewel would come on the final drive with the Lions down six points to the visiting Browns. From the 32 yard line and with only eight seconds left, Stafford heaved the ball to the end zone as he took a nasty hit. The ball would be intercepted but the Browns had taken a pass interference penalty. Stafford, with a rough shoulder injury, would force his way back into the game for the final play. He threw the game tying touchdown to fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew. With the extra point, the Lions won the match-up and the grit Stafford showed would be a glimpse of the rest of his career to come.
His second season wouldn’t have much payoff as he only played 3 games due to injuries. After back to back injury riddled seasons, Stafford would begin to get the “injury prone” label and some went so far as to call him “Matt Glassford”. The very next season he would prove all those doubters wrong as he threw 5038 yards and 41 touchdowns. Stafford would get snubbed from the Pro Bowl, but he did get a great consolation prize as the Lions made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Lions fans would finally have hope after twelve straight years of missing the playoffs, one of which was the infamous 0-16 season. That young Lions team of 2011 had a lot of grit but unfortunately they would face the New Orleans Saints in the wildcard round. While the season didn’t end the way the Lions would have hoped, there was a lot to build on. Stafford and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson were becoming an electric duo on the field. Stafford was named Comeback Player of the Year and looked poised to be the quarterback Detroit was expecting in 2009. The defense and offensive line still needed to be improved if the team was to take that next step.
Expectations were higher heading into the 2012 season. Could this finally be the year that the Lions turn the corner? As they came to realize, the team would struggle severely. After a year where the team was exciting and won ten games, Detroit would find themselves unable to catch a break as they only managed four wins. Stafford would play excellent and the team would post the second best passing attack in the NFL. The Stafford-Megatron connection didn’t seem to be the issue. The true cause of failure that year came down to a lack of a defense and a run game. In 2012 the Lions had the 23rd Rushing Offense and the 27th Defense league wide. They went from a surprising playoff team right back to the basement in just a matter of a year. Head Coach Jim Schwartz would end the year on the hot seat after his third losing season in four years.
The 2013 season would show some promise early on in the season as the Lions started out 3-1. Stafford averaged 315.5 yards per game over that span and he found the end zone eight times. The team wasn’t playing perfect ball by no means but they were winning. Detroit would split the next four games as they went into their bye week. Stafford extended his play through that span with an impressive showing. Coming out of the bye, Stafford wouldn’t have a very good stretch. He would throw eight interceptions in his next four games, in spite of this, they managed to once again split in that span. This split included a last second comeback victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Stafford faked a spike against the Cowboys and pulled himself over the huddle into the end zone to score the game winning touchdown with only seconds remaining. While his comeback was a great memory and would showcase his ability to crawl back into games, the rest of the season wouldn’t be so forgiving. The Lions would lose out the rest of the way in yet another disappointing season. At this time, ownership would have enough with Jim Schwartz and would relieve him of his duties as head coach. His replacement would come in the form of the reserved Baltimore Offensive Coordinator and former Colts Head Coach, Jim Caldwell. Caldwell brought experience with winning and working well with quarterbacks to bring out their best. This caught the interest of Lions GM Martin Mayhew as he brought Caldwell on to right the ship.
Caldwell would instantly bring fresh air to the team and revitalize Stafford’s career. Stafford and the Lions would start the season out strong once again. Stafford looked improved but still a little unrefined. His gunslinger style of play gave his team big plays but could also turn into big risks. Even with the risky plays, the team saw success and that was all that truly mattered. So far Caldwell was living up to his name. The rest of the season would see the Lions finish 11-4 and would face the Packers Week 17 on the road to decide the division winner. The Packers were 11-4 as well with a 4-1 record against divisional opponents (the one loss being to Detroit earlier in the season). Detroit would have a chance to win their division for the first time since 1993. The Lions would, however, fall flat as they lost 20-30 in Lambeau Field. Even if the Lions didn’t win the Division, they had had their best season since the 1990s.
Detroit would be heading to the playoffs for the second time under Mathew Stafford. That meant facing Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys coming off of a twelve win season. The Cowboys would make a tough opponent for the Wildcard Lions, but their young quarterback and their 3rd ranked defense seemed up to the task. Facing the Cowboys on the road, the Lions would take an early lead off a Stafford touchdown pass to Golden Tate and then again not long after with a Reggie Bush rushing touchdown. Tony Romo would find Terrance Williams who wove his way through the Lions secondary for a 76 yard touchdown. To close the half, Matt Prater would hit a 39 yard Field Goal to give the Lions a 17-7 Lead going into halftime. With 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Stafford threw a pass to Brandon Pettigrew who was held and interfered with on the play by Anthony Kitchens. Pass interference would be called on the play only for the referees to pick the flag back up. Stafford, along with the rest of his teammates, couldn’t believe it as he tried to argue his case to the referees to no avail. This decision to pick the flag back up was and still is very controversial as it took away field position and the first down necessary for the Lions to find the end zone. Instead, they had to settle for a Matt Prater field goal to stretch the lead to 20-7. That would be the last time Detroit would put points on the board in that game. The Cowboys would find the end zone on a DeMarco Murray run and would later get a Dan Bailey Field Goal. With two minutes and change left on the clock, Romo once again found Williams who would give the Cowboys their first lead of the game. The Lions had the opportunity to answer back but were unable to do so as they lost by four points. Despite the feeling of being cheated of their first playoff win in decades, Lions fans had a lot of hope for the direction of the franchise after such a promising season. Stafford would go on to be selected to his first Pro Bowl and he would win Offensive MVP for the game. His nod to the Pro Bowl would be a little sour as by this point Stafford had been snubbed the previous three seasons.
The 2015 season would see Detroit fall face first out of the gate as they lost their first five games. In that time, Stafford did not play well as he only found the end zone six times and he was picked off eight times. Despite the skid, the Lions would fight in the rest of their games that season. Stafford also returned to his Pro Bowl form as he threw for 3057 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions the rest of the way. However, this run of games by him and the team wouldn’t be enough to overcome their earlier slump. Detroit won 7 of their final 11 games en route to a 7-9 record after a year where they contended for their division title. Had they only found their feet a few weeks sooner they might have had a shot at the playoffs. Lions Ownership had finally seen enough of General Manager Martin Mayhew and they decided to let him go in favor of a new direction. They did, however, decide to retain Head Coach Jim Caldwell given the success he had his first season and his winning streak to close out the season.
Ahead of the 2016 season, the Lions decided to hire Patriots Director of Pro Scouting, Bob Quinn, to be their next General Manager. With hope that by adding a member of the greatest football dynasty of all time, that the Lions could find success themselves. Now with a new front office, the Lions were determined to make it work. The defense, offensive line, and run game still had the issues they had in previous years, but something had changed. The team would no longer roll over, they would strive to win in games that they had little chance of crawling back in. This would result in one of the craziest seasons in NFL history. The Lions started out their season against Andrew Luck and the Colts. With only 37 seconds left on the clock and down one point, Stafford led a game winning drive from a Matt Prater field goal. This was the first of eight 4th quarter comebacks that Stafford and the Lions would have that season. By week 14, the team was 9-4 and on top of the division, but Stafford would suffer an injury that would hinder his play for the rest of the season. The Lions needed one win in their final three games to secure the division over the Green Bay Packers, who had started their season 4-6 but managed to climb back. The Lions would proceed to lose all three games, including a loss at home against the packers. For the second time in three years, the Lions had fumbled away a chance to win the division when they had a clear path to do so. Without the division title, the Lions would have to face the Seahawks on the road in the Wildcard Round instead of having home field advantage in the playoffs. Their matchup was a disaster against the Seahawks. The team all around played poorly. It didn’t help that the one touchdown they should have had, was batted out of Calvin Johnson’s hands in the end zone. Which should have resulted in the Lion’s ball not a touchback as the referees called it. With the third playoff appearance in the Stafford era, the Lions had once again failed to advance past the Wildcard Round. The team, fans, and most importantly, Stafford were incredibly frustrated. The team could never seem to find the right pieces to put them over the edge.
The Lions very clearly wanted to be more than a perennial mediocre team, so they began putting pressure on Caldwell to yield success on the field. The Lions once again started hot with back to back wins and would face the 2-0 Falcons at Ford Field. In a back and forth slug fest, the Lions found themselves down four points. This situation didn’t phase Stafford or the Lions considering all the times they managed to put themselves on top with virtually no time left. They would manage to do it again as Stafford found Golden Tate in the end zone with eight seconds left. Review on the touchdown determined that Tate was half a yard short so the call was overturned. After which, the clock became a running clock again and there was a ten second runoff that ended the game. Stafford wouldn’t even have the chance to finish the drive off due to a strange and arbitrary rule. This loss did end up causing some havoc for Detroit later in the year as they went on to go 9-7 and miss the playoffs due to a tie-breaker with the Carolina Panthers. That one win would have given them the spot needed for a chance at the Lombardi Trophy. Instead, the Lions would once again be on the outside looking in. Convinced the team was better than a nine win squad, General Manager Bob Quinn would move on from Jim Caldwell in favor of Patriots Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia. Stafford, coming off of a 4446 yard and 29 touchdown campaign, would have his third head coach in his career.
The offseason of 2018 would bring a lot of optimism to Lions fans. They now had a coach used to winning and there was real hope that he could get them over the hump of being a bubble team. Stafford seemed to have everything he needed to burst onto the scene again. Reality would soon come though as the Lions were embarrassed on Monday Night Football by the Jets in week one. The rest of the season would be much of the same as they only managed six wins. A team that barely missed the playoffs the previous season, had fallen far from grace. Stafford had his worst full season of his career at the time with 3777 yards and only 21 touchdowns. The team as a whole just hadn’t shown up to play their best. The scheme changes were a big factor in the regression and there was a chance that with more time the team would adjust back to their high level of play.
Year two under Matt Patricia, would begin with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals. Early on, the Lions took advantage with the team looking for their first win of the season. Leading 24-6 in the 4th quarter, Stafford found an open Kenny Golladay who broke for the end zone only for the play to be called back due to the Lions coaching staff calling a timeout. Upon running the down again, the Lions would fail to convert for the first down. Frustrated, Stafford returned to the sideline and could be seen yelling, “Trust me, f—-ing trust me!”. The Cardinals then answered with two field goals, two touchdowns, and a two point conversion to tie the game before overtime. The Cardinals would answer first with a field goal but the Lions tied it back at 27-27. The score would remain that way as the Lions would choke away an eighteen point lead in the fourth quarter despite an astounding 385 yard and 3 touchdown performance by Stafford. The next two games saw the Lions win on the back of Stafford yet again before they would face the contending Kansas City Chiefs lead by Patrick Mahomes in week four. Outside of Detroit, very few people in the media would give the Lions any chance to play with the Chiefs. Stafford looked like he took that personally as he turned back time with an excellent performance. While the Lions fell short when Kenny Golladay’s touchdown was called back, Stafford had proved his doubters wrong. He was in fact one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Stafford would continue his great stretch of games until he suffered an injury against the Oakland Raiders that would sideline him for the rest of the season. Stafford would miss his first start in nearly a decade and his streak of 136 consecutive starts would come to an end. Stafford finished his season with 2499 yards, 19 touchdowns, and only four interceptions in the eight games he played. Had Stafford’s squad been better and he was able to play the rest of the way, he surely would have been in the Pro Bowl and quite possibly MVP talks. That’s how good he was in 2019. Sadly, his team wouldn’t win another game without him to close out the season. With a 3-12-1 record, the Lions hadn’t got exactly what they had expected under Matt Patricia. With Stafford’s injury and his age, questions about whether or not the Lions should move on from their franchise quarterback began to arise. These were swept away as general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia were on the hot seat and needed to prove they could turn the team around.
Entering 2020, there wasn’t a lot of optimism in the Motor City. Stafford was the team’s only real bright spot as the defense managed to choke away every lead they could. We did see some vintage Stafford against the Falcons as he managed to pull one of his signature last second comebacks. Other than that, the season was dull and unforgiving. After a 4-7 start, Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn were fired and offensive coordinator Darrel Bevell would guide the Lions in their last five games. Stafford played better under Bevell’s leadership but it didn’t matter since they only managed one win the rest of the way. Matt Patricia’s time as head coach had reduced a playoff caliber team to dust and broke the spirit of many players in the locker room. Many of which decided to seek other teams via trades or free agency. With him gone, the Lions could finally begin to rebuild under newly named general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell. Stafford and the Lions mutually decided a change in scenery was in order. Shortly after, the team started shopping their quarterback until they decided the Rams had the best offer. Stafford would be traded in exchange for two first round picks, a third round pick, and Jared Goff who had recently gotten the Rams to the Super Bowl. For the first time in more than a decade, Stafford would no longer be a Detroit Lion.
So what’s Stafford’s legacy? Well, there is no simple answer. While the team never won a championship or even a playoff game in his time in Detroit, much of that is attributed to poor scheme and surrounding pieces. Stafford played his heart out most seasons and games, and not much more could have been asked of him. He was a warrior and tough player for the Lions ever since he stole that victory from the Browns all those years ago. His play and love for the game couldn’t be understated. Every Sunday he gave everything he had to the Lions despite the constant losses and injuries. Oftentimes he would play through them because he felt he owed it to his teammates to show up on game day. He wasn’t perfect by no means but he did everything he could to turn that 0-16 team he inherited so many years ago into a functioning sports franchise. That young kid from Georgia didn’t give the Lions a championship but he gave them his heart and twelve years of great football. Stafford is certainly one of the best Lions in the modern era and one day people will ask how Detroit couldn’t win with him. Now that he’s in a better situation, Stafford may finally have a chance to win a ring and change the narrative about him. Maybe one day Stafford will finally find the praise and recognition for all he did in Detroit.
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