Rams QB Matthew Stafford eyes wild-card playoff return to Detroit after blockbuster trade

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Sunday night’s Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions wild-card matchup has so many storylines it could be a Hollywood script.

Detroit hasn’t hosted a postseason game in 30 years. The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since Jan. 5, 1992. It’s the NFL’s longest active playoff win drought. Matthew Stafford is part of the Lions’ wretched playoff history. Stafford spent 12 years in Detroit and went 0-3 in the playoffs. Stafford’s postseason misfortune all changed on Jan. 30, 2021 — when the Lions agreed to ship him to Los Angeles in a blockbuster trade with the Rams that also sent Jared Goff to the Lions in exchange. In Stafford’s first season with the Rams, the quarterback reached the pinnacle of the sport. Meanwhile, Detroit’s postseason win drought continued.

Now for the first time Stafford is set to return to Detroit to face the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in the 2009 draft in what’s bound to be an emotional contentious homecoming of sorts.

Contentious because Motown is starving for some playoff success.

“The opportunity happens to be in Detroit, which is fun for me on a personal level,” Stafford said. “It is going to be rocking there. They haven't had a playoff game there in about 30 years or whatever it is. So it will be a great atmosphere. It will be a tough task for us, but I'm definitely excited.”

Stafford is the Lions’ all-time franchise leader in many QB statistical categories, including passing yards and touchdowns. And on a personal level, he started his family in the city.

“It’s an amazing city. It’s an amazing group of fans. The organization does a heck of a job and I know that they are gonna be excited. It’s gonna be a great atmosphere. Probably one of the best we’ve played in a long time. It’s a group of people from my experience love the Lions,” Stafford said this week. “They have an opportunity to host a playoff game. They’ve earned that opportunity. It’s gonna be a cool experience for everybody involved in the game. It’ll be a tough place to play, and it’ll be loud.

“I’ve had a lot of experiences there over 12 years. All my daughters were born there. My wife and I went through things there that the team, the city, group and town, everybody supported. I have nothing but great memories there ... It’s a special place for me and my family.”

While Detroit holds a special place in Stafford’s heart, the 35-year-old quarterback and his teammates understand at the end of the day their focus will be on winning a playoff game.

“Matthew (Stafford) is a pro’s pro. He's the guy you want leading the charge,” Rams offensive lineman Rob Havenstein said. “I was just saying that there might be a fleeting moment in the beginning of the game where it's emotional. I'm sure Detroit's going to come out and give him the love and respect that he deserves.”

Havenstein was teammates with Goff before he started blocking for Stafford. Goff took a similar approach this week when asked about facing his former team.

“Obviously, there’s a personal connection there. I still badly want to win a playoff game for this city that hasn’t had one in so long,” Goff said this week. “We have a home playoff game for the first time in so long.  That’s so much more important than anything personally for me.”

Sunday’s game features the first time in NFL playoff history that the starting quarterbacks are both facing their former teams. Goff and Stafford will forever be linked due to the 2021 trade.

There’s no denying the Rams vs. Lions playoff battle has a different feeling to it — for the teams, the fans, the city of Detroit and for Goff and Stafford. For Stafford in particular, Detroit is a city he’s had so many experiences in as a quarterback and human being, and now he’s returning as an opponent for the very first time.

“All the great things he did for that city and for that organization. I think there’s a lot of appreciation on both ends,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I know he feels that way. I know they do about him. It’s pretty unique to get an opportunity to go back there and play them in the playoffs.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew Stafford eyes Detroit return for Rams-Lions wild-card game