What do we make of Matthew Stafford’s disaster game against the Jets? Time to panic? Or is this just an aberration – one of the better quarterbacks having an off night against a defense that had a good feel for him?
With the Bears having a vastly improved defense, the Lions look like the worst team in their division. That’s worrying – I’m not excited about those four games against Chicago and Minnesota.
Also note that Stafford’s problems trace back to the preseason. He wasn’t good in the exhibitions, completing only 11 of 23 passes, with 5 sacks.
But I’m expecting the Stafford we’ll see will be pretty similar to what he’s been in recent years. He can wing it, and he’s playing for an offense that will have to pass plenty – they’ll be trailing often, and they can’t really run it. Again.
Nothing wrong with the weapons. Marvin Jones, Golden Tate and Kenny Golladay are a nice trio of wide receivers, and Theo Riddick is a good third-down back.
For most of the Jets game, Stafford to me looked pretty much like the Stafford we’ve been watching for years. He just made some ill-advised throws, and the Jets seemed to know exactly how to play against him.
But I imagine Stafford will right the ship and put up his usual kind of numbers. He’ll definitely be a top-10 quarterback in terms of passing yards. For touchdowns, I seem him as more of an average option.
Stafford has played poorly many times in the past, and he’s generally been able to shoot his way out of a slump.
In the last seven years, Stafford has thrown at least 3 interceptions eight times. In 75 percent of his games the following week (6 of 8) he’s thrown for at least 330 yards. In three of those games, he’s thrown 3-plus touchdowns (with just 0-1 TDs in the other five).
| STAFFORD AFTER 3-PLUS INTERCEPTIONS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opp. | Score | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
| 2011 | Car. | W 49-35 | 78% | 335 | 5 | 2 |
| 2011 | at N.O. | L 17-31 | 70% | 408 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | at S.F. | L 19-27 | 59% | 230 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | Atl. | L 18-31 | 66% | 443 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | G.B. | W 40-10 | 63% | 330 | 3 | 2 |
| 2013 | NYG | L 20-23 | 60% | 222 | 0 | 2 |
| 2015 | Chi. | W 37-34 | 64% | 405 | 4 | 1 |
| 2017 | Pitt. | L 15-20 | 60% | 423 | 0 | 0 |
—Ian Allan