Getty Image / Leon Halip
Matthew Stafford was one of the few bright spots in a dark era of Detroit Lions football from 2009-2020. The former first-overall pick put up some pretty impressive numbers on some downright bad Lions teams throughout the decade-plus he was in the Motor City.
Now, he’s set to play in Detroit for the first time in his career, as his Los Angeles Rams will travel to Detroit next weekend for the NFC Wild Card Round.
The Rams beat the 49ers, 21-20, and the Lions beat the Vikings, 30-20, on Sunday to set up the matchup. Los Angeles is the #6 seed in the NFC, while the Lions are the #3 seed.
It will be the first time that Detroit has hosted a playoff game since January 8, 1994. The stakes were already going to be high, but with Matthew Stafford coming to town, it’s the perfect storyline.
In Stafford’s twelve seasons in Detroit, he threw for over 45,000 yards and 282 touchdowns, both team records by leaps and bounds. The overall record of 74-90-1 is not good, but when you consider the record of other Lions quarterbacks this century, that’s excellent.
Matthew Stafford made three playoff appearances with the Lions, losing all three. After being traded to the Los Angeles Rams, Stafford immediately won a Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
It’s certain to be a rocking atmosphere in Detroit next weekend.