Matthew Stafford is ready to experience whatever he experiences in Detroit
On Sunday, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford returns to Detroit for the first time since the Lions traded him to L.A. after the 2020 season. What is he expecting when he gets there?
“I'm not expecting anything, to be honest with you," Stafford told reporters on Wednesday. "I was asked this question a couple of times by friends and family. I think the biggest thing for me is just go experience whatever that experience is going to be. I understand what the people of Detroit and what the city of Detroit meant to me and my time and my career, what they meant to my family. I hope they feel that back. But at the same time, I'm not a stranger to the situation and understand that I'm the bad guy coming to town. I'm on the other team. They don't want success for me. So whatever happens, happens. I'm going to go experience it, play the game. Once the ball is snapped, man, let's go. Two good football teams go compete and see what happens.”
Stafford, the first overall pick for the Lions in 2009, ultimately doesn't care where the Rams are playing in the postseason. He's just happy they're playing in the postseason.
“I'm excited to go play anybody, anywhere in the playoffs," Stafford said. "We were a team that at the beginning of the season, nobody gave us a chance to be in the position that we are in. I'm proud of the work that both the players, the coaches, and everybody that's involved in getting this thing right. I'm proud of the work that we've put into it. It's got us to this point. We have to continue to work to try and get better. We have an opportunity to go play a game on Sunday and if we win, we continue to go. And if we don't, we go home and we understand that. Just going to embrace the opportunity. That's what we've been doing all year. Have fun in the experience and go try to play as good a ball as we can.”
Stafford still realizes how important it is for Detroit to be hosting a playoff game for the first time in more than 30 years.
"It's an amazing city," Stafford said. "It's an amazing group of fans. The organization does a heck of a job and I know that they're going to be excited. It’s going to be a great atmosphere, probably one of the best we've played in in a long time. It's a group of people that, from my experience, love the Lions and wanted what is best for them and now they're playing really good football. They had the opportunity to host the playoff game. They’ve earned that opportunity. It's going to be a cool experience for those people, really everybody involved in the game. It'll be a tough place to play. It'll be loud. It'll be really tough for us to communicate as an offense and we understand that. Those are the kind of fun experiences you want as a player in the NFL and I'm sure Sunday will be that way.”
The Lions haven't won a playoff game since beating the Cowboys at the Silverdome in 1991. Stafford and the Rams are good enough to extend the 32-year streak by at least another season.
Tune in to NBC on Sunday night to find out whether the Lions can pull it off. Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
