Detroit Lions’ first playoff game since 2017 — and their first home playoff game in 30 years — will be against the quarterback many consider to be the best they have ever had. The Los Angeles Rams’ first playoff game since winning Super Bowl LVI nearly two calendar years ago will be against the quarterback who nearly led them to the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2019.
Such is the drama of the wild-card matchup the NFL has served up on Sunday, when Matthew Stafford returns to Ford Field to square off with the Lions and Jared Goff. These two quarterbacks swapped sides in 2021, the blockbuster trade providing Los Angeles with the missing piece it needed to win a Super Bowl — and providing Detroit with the signal-caller it needed to properly kickstart a rebuildOnce upon a time, the Lions made Stafford the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and fans began to dream of Detroit making — and perhaps winning — a Super Bowl. Although Stafford couldn’t lead the Lions to the promised land, he still made his mark in Detroit and owns many of its franchise passing records, including touchdowns, completions, completion percentage, and passing yards.
But Stafford on Wednesday acknowledged that it would be foolish to expect a warm reception from the fans for whom he played between 2009 and 2020. He seems to know he will be the “bad guy,” and the home fans don’t want to see him have a good game.
