Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford has a chance to cement his legacy

Former Detroit Lions quarterback, Matthew Stafford, has the ultimate opportunity to cement his legacy with a win in Super Bowl LVI.

Before the start of this season, head coach Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams pushed all of their chips to the center of the table in hopes of being in this position today.  McVay and the Rams got to the Super Bowl a few years ago but fell short, and the energetic head coach felt one piece was missing; a franchise quarterback.

The Rams raised the ante this past offseason, trading two first-round picks and a third along with quarterback Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford.

That trade was made for this stage.

Stafford had endured a plethora of turnover during his 12 years with the Detroit Lions and did not want to go through another wholesale rebuild.  The Detroit Lions do not have a great reputation with their former star players such as Barry Sanders, and Calvin Johnson but have made an apparent effort to right a wrong by moving on from Stafford.

As much as it hurts, the deal is proving to be the best for both organizations.  The Detroit Lions desperately need draft capital to continue improving their roster in every area, especially on the defensive side of things, and there is no denying Stafford has provided the Rams with an elite arm which McVay felt he needed to add to take the next step.

A Super Bowl victory is all that is obstructing former Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford from landing in Canton.

It’s amazing what happens when a player, mainly a quarterback, is paired with the right offensive play-caller.

For the Stafford-haters in Detroit, Stafford was never the problem.  I know, Stafford was never able to win a playoff game during his time in Detroit, and he should shoulder some blame, but not all of the blame.

It’s not Stafford’s fault Joe Lombardi was nothing short of a disaster as a play-caller during his time with the Detroit Lions.  It wasn’t Stafford’s fault that Jim Caldwell, albeit a great man and great coach from Monday to Saturday, struggled with in-game decisions on Sundays, among other challenges over the 12-years, including the officials having some sort of vendetta against the organization.

Stafford has lived up to McVay’s expectations so far in the postseason, completing a whopping 72% of his pass attempts throwing for 905 yards, six touchdowns, and just one interception.

In his first season with the Rams, Stafford tossed for 4,886 yards, 41 touchdowns, but 17 interceptions.

Stafford also quarterbacked two of the greatest single seasons from a receiver in NFL history.  Cooper Kupp set career-highs this past season, making 145 receptions totaling 1,947 yards and totaling 16 receiving touchdowns, and led the league in each category.

Stafford also helped Calvin Johnson earn 1,964 yards on 122 receptions and five touchdowns in 2012.  Johnson totaled 16 touchdowns, and 1,681 yards on 96 catches the year prior.  If you recall, back in 2012, Johnson seemed to get tackled at the one-yard line in just about every game, limiting his production to just five touchdowns.

I am eager to see how Stafford handles himself on the biggest stage.  This is what Stafford hoped for; to play meaningful games.  There isn’t a more meaningful game than the Super Bowl, and all that stands in Stafford’s way is a young cigar smoking unfazed Joe Burrow.