Matthew Stafford Gets Mixed Reception From Lions Fans In Week 1 Primetime Return to Detroit
Show more respect to your franchise's all-time passing leader …
Matthew Stafford is back to face his old team in Detroit in Week 1 — playing his fourth year in Los Angeles since the Lions and Los Angeles Rams famously swapped first-overall QBs.
Despite Stafford's accomplishments for the franchise, Lions fans greeted the QB with tough love as he returned to Ford Field for a Week 1 Sunday Night Football matchup.
DETROIT,MICHIGAN-SEPTEMBER 9: Quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) of the Los Angeles Rams prepares to throw the ball ahead of a game between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams in Detroit, Michigan USA, on Sunday, September 8, 2024 (Photo by Amy Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Lions fans showered Stafford with a mix of boos and cheers as he walked onto the field.
Maybe the boos were for Kelly Stafford …
A Super Bowl win in Stafford's first year with the Rams all but won the trade for LA. …
… that is until Jared Goff, LA's gift to the Lions for Stafford, started to mesh with the game plan in the Motor City, playing above and beyond expectations. Detroit has seemingly embraced the new era under Goff.
Though the Rams won the Super Bowl in 2022, the Lions have fared better as a team since that championship, going 21-13 in the last two regular seasons. The 12-5 Lions were a game away from reaching the Super Bowl last year.
Ask Stafford if he expects the jeers from his longtime team in Detroit, and the QB is honest that it's not only anticipated but welcomed.
To Stafford, that 'hate' from Lions fans is motivational.
"Yeah, I feel the crowd, 100%," Stafford said at Rams practice Wednesday. "[It’s a] motivating factor. [I] love it. I’m one of the guys that walks into the opposing stadium, everybody has their headphones on. I don’t. I want to hear all of it. I want to smell it. I want to feel like it’s football and that’s part of football, especially going to an away game. That stuff just motivates me."
Lions fans got the last laugh against the Rams in January after defeating LA in the Wild Card Round, 24-23.
After 12 years in Detroit, Stafford left the team, and some Lions fans are still holding onto bitter feelings about his departure.
During his time with the Lions from 2009 to 2020, Stafford achieved the highest passer rating (89.9) by a Lions QB, and he also broke the records for most passing yards (45,109) and most touchdowns (282) thrown by a Lions QB. Despite his 74-90-1 record as a Lion, Stafford's legacy in Detroit is undeniable.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 08: Jared Goff #16 leads the Detroit Lions on to the field for their game against the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field on September 08, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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