Hotshot quarterback Matthew Stafford, 21, arrives in Detroit. A grown man with a wife and four daughters who were all born in Michigan, he departed three years ago.
He made a valiant effort to snap the Lions’ decades-long playoff winning streak over the 12 years that passed. Although the Lions were unsuccessful, he developed a relationship with Detroit that is now a fundamental aspect of who he is.
Stafford was born and raised in the Motor City, even though he currently resides comfortably in Southern California after growing up in Texas.
Stafford remarked, “It’s an amazing city,” on a January Wednesday with a temperature of sixty degrees. “This fan base is incredible. They’ll be thrilled because the organisation does an amazing job. There will be an incredible vibe. very likely among the best games we’ve played in a while. From my experience, it’s a bunch of folks who genuinely care about the Lions and want the best for them. And they’re doing well in football now.”
Stafford will finally get to play in his first postseason game in Detroit on Sunday night. He will do it while wearing the horned helmet of the Los Angeles Rams, whom he helped win a Super Bowl in his first season following his departure from the Lions.
Now that Detroit is hosting a playoff game for the first time in thirty years, Stafford is in a position to significantly contribute to the Lions’ postseason suffering. Stafford will accept if the city doesn’t feel the same way this weekend, even if he still has a strong attachment to Detroit.
“I’m not a stranger to the situation, and understanding that I’m the bad guy coming to town,” Stafford stated. “They want me to fail, and I’m on the opposite team. Thus, whatever occurs, happens. I’m going to go see it for myself.”
Having been a part of three road playoff defeats with the Lions, Stafford still harbours resentment for not being able to put an end to the team’s decades-long misery.
Over the course of 12 years, I had a lot of adventures there, Stafford said. It is where all of my daughters were born. There, my spouse and I experienced things that the town, the city, and the team all encouraged. I so only have wonderful memories from that place. We obviously didn’t accomplish as much on the pitch as I would have liked, but the people I had the good fortune to get to know and develop relationships with are people I value greatly and remain close to me to this day.”
Stafford enquired
requesting a trade at the beginning of 2021, following the Lions’ third consecutive losing season that led them to begin yet another rebuild.
After reaching a blockbuster contract, the Rams, led by coach Sean McVay, were unhappy with their quarterback of the previous four seasons, Jared Goff.
This is an incredible opportunity to watch the first-ever NFL playoff matchup involving two starting quarterbacks from different teams. In their previous meeting, Stafford helped the Rams defeat Goff’s winless Lions by a close margin at SoFi Stadium in 2021.
With 45,109 yards and 282 touchdown passes, Stafford is still the most prolific quarterback in Lions franchise history, but he will be playing on Ford Field for the first time since he left.
