Matthew Stafford got to work on Monday and didn't think he had any chance of going to work this Sunday. Same thing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. His rib injury was too painful, too restricting. He couldn't practice. Stafford's played through a lot in his career, but this time was too much. It just wasn't going to happen.
Then Friday rolled and Stafford said he 'he turned a corner.' He decided Friday night, after suiting up in practice for the first time since being steamrolled last week by Packers DT Kenny Clark, that "something bad was going to have to happen" to prevent him from playing Sunday against the Titans.
"I kind of told myself Friday night that I was going to give it a go," Stafford said.
He gave it a go, alright, completing 22 of 32 passes for one touchdown and no picks before being lifted in the fourth quarter of the Lions' 46-25 loss. It was a game that summed up Stafford's career in Detroit, a career that might be nearing its end. He put his body on the line for a poor team and watched a porous defense throw it away.
"I don’t want to make too much of it," Stafford said. "We’re all out there battling through stuff. I’m like all the other guys on our team that have (injuries) going on. I felt good enough to go play and felt like I could be effective, and felt like when I was in there I was doing a decent job. Just gotta get us in the end zone a couple more times."
Whenever Stafford moves on from the Lions, whether it's this offseason or further down the line, you can put those words on the tombstone he leaves behind. He played for so many overmatched teams in Detroit that the club's success always hinged on his arm. Either Stafford got the Lions in the end zone enough, or he didn't.
It's fair to wonder why he even took the field on Sunday. He's got a torn ligament in his throwing hand to go along with the torn cartilage in his ribs, and any realistic shot the Lions had at making the playoffs died in Week 14 against the Packers. Best-case scenario was a meaningless win. Worst-case scenario was a long-term injury. Considering the state of Detroit's offensive line -- and its defense -- the latter was probably more likely.
So Stafford was asked afterward why it's so important to him to play. He sort of shrugged, like the answer was self-evident, like anybody with a job would go to these same lengths to show up for work.
"Because I'm the quarterback of the Detroit Lions, and it was Sunday, and I got a bunch of teammates out there that work their ass off," he said. "They fight to be available and fight to get out there and play and try to help us win. If there's any way I can play, I'm never gonna not.
"It’s just, I feel like I owe it to those guys, I owe it to the game, I owe it to this organization, everybody. If I’m good enough to play, healthy enough to play, my ass is gonna be out there. I felt like I was good enough to play, and that’s why I wanted to be out there."
Good enough to play, not quite good enough to overcome the problems around him. 12 years captured in one Sunday, maybe one of the last Sundays left.
