Not for nothing matthew stafford was the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, preceded by a good reputation as a prospect quarterback with the University of Georgia Bulldogs and looking forward to all his talent, things were looking very good, both for him and for the team that recruited him for the professional stage, the Detroit Lions.
But nevertheless, in 12 years with Detroit he was only able to lead the team to the postseason three times and in none of them was he able to get a single win in the qualifying matches, and it was not until the night of the Monday, January 17, 2022 when he achieved that first and elusive victory in the playoffs, leaving the Arizona Cardinals on the road, taking a great weight off his shoulders.
It took no more 182 regular season games and 186 total. To break that curse, Stafford required two great virtues: patience and perseverance.
In the offseason of the 2021 season, the Lions and Los Angeles Rams surprised the NFL world by carrying out a lavish trade.e that, as the main pieces of the transaction, involved their respective quarterbacks, so that Stafford arrived in the southern Californian city and Jared Goff was leaving for the ‘Motor City’.
Monday night was not exactly one of Stafford’s best performances, completing 13 of 17 passes for 202 yards, yes, with two touchdown passes and achieving another personally on the goal line, giving stability to the Rams’ offense, who won 34-11 over the Cardinals, although the score did not reflect what happened on the field, since the Angelenos’ defense was the protagonist.
“I’m just excited that the team won. It feels great,” Stafford said, putting aside that coveted personal achievement of winning the playoffs. “I’m happy to have achieved this, let’s go for more.”
Despite going 74-90-1 as a starter for the LionsThose numbers don’t do justice to his quality and talent as a quarterback. With Detroit he attended the Pro Bowl in 2014; in 2011 he won the Comeback of the Year award; He is the quarterback that required the fewest games (71 games) to reach 20,000 yards, the same as for 30,000 (109), 40,000 (147) and 45,000 (165).
In 2012 he set the mark for most pass attempts (727) in a single season, in 2015 he became the first quarterback to complete at least 60 percent of his passes in every game that season and in 2016 he recorded eight returns in the fourth quarter, a current mark in the league.
To his misfortune, several of these records did not have enough luster playing for a team like the Lions, probably one of the most unlucky franchises not only in the NFL but in all of American sports. For example, it is one of only four organizations that have never played in a Super Bowl, along with Cleveland, Jacksonville and Houston.
“I think when he threw the ball, Matthew was terrific,” Rams coach Sean McVay said after the game against Arizona, in which he tipped the offensive balance more toward running the ball than going through the air.
But the task is not complete for Stafford, and although he has just passed an exam that had cost him work, there are other challenges ahead, perhaps just as great when the next Sunday the Rams travel to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, commanded by the veteran Tom Brady.
to advance, Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers could cross pathsBut first things first, the former Lions quarterback is fully aware of it.
“It’s just the next step in the journey,” Stafford said. “Brady is an outstanding player, he has been for a long time. They are a great soccer team. But I am not playing against him in a heads up, although I understand that he will do his part to help his team, just as I will have to do the same.
Of course, Stafford is not satisfied with having won his first postseason game after 13 years in the NFL, like any player who is part of the league, dreams of a Super Bowl and lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but to achieve this you need to go step by step and the quarterback has already taken the first.
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Matthew Stafford, the QB who had 13 years of bad luck, until he came to the Rams