You'd be hard-pressed to find an NFL player whose team has been the victim of more bad calls than Matthew Stafford. Because Matthew Stafford has played 12 years for the Lions.
So if Stafford's final game with the Lions came last Sunday against the Vikings, it was fitting that two dubious decisions by the refs helped Minnesota escape with a 37-35 victory.
The first was the worst, and the most costly. With the Vikings leading 31-29 in the 4th quarter, Tracy Walker was flagged for roughing the passer on what should have been a stop on fourth-and-goal.
Stafford, like the rest of us, couldn't believe it. Flat-out couldn't believe it. He saw the flag just as he was putting on his helmet to lead the offense back on the field. His first response, courtesy of a mic'd up video shared by the Lions:
"What? What!? WHAT!?"
And when the call was announced:
"NO!!"
Moments later, in a brief comment to defensive coordinator Cory Undlin:
"Are you kidding me? He just tackled him. Unbelievable."
Naturally, the Vikings scored on the next play. Those points wound up being the difference in the game.
When the defense returned to the sideline, Stafford was there to greet them, speaking for us all:
"Fu*k that, that's good playing. That's good playing, man, y'all got off the field!"
On the very next drive, Stafford threw a 38-yard touchdown to Marvin Jones, their third connection of the day. But the play was reviewed and the refs decided Jones lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. Sure didn't look the way, at least not conclusively.
"It never touched the ground, bro," Jones told Stafford after the call was reversed.
Stafford, again, speaking for us all:
"Unbelievable."
"Ain't that crazy?" said Jones, who arguably had another touchdown taken away from him in a loss to the Packers last month.
Stafford: "Yep."
Although, if he's being honest, it's not so crazy at all. It's life as he knows it in the NFL.
