Rams' Matthew Stafford Reflects on Support from Lions Fans After Super Bowl Win

Even though Matthew Stafford won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, he's still thinking about where his career began. 

After defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 at SoFi Stadium to capture his first Super Bowl title, Stafford gave a shoutout to the Detroit Lions fans that have supported him even though he decided to part ways with the organization. 

"It was amazing. There's no reason for them to cheer for me anymore, and the fact that they did was just a true testament to who they are as people and who they are as fans," Stafford said. 

Stafford, the No. 1 pick in 2009, spent the first 12 years of his career with the Lions. During his tenure, he went 74-90-1, having completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 45,109 yards and 282 touchdowns against 144 interceptions.

However, the 34-year-old only reached the postseason in three seasons with the Lions. Detroit lost each of those games, all of which were wild-card round matchups. Regardless, Stafford gave everything he had to the Lions, so it's not surprising fans of the franchise are supporting him.

Leading up to the Super Bowl, "Detroit Rams" shirts, which had the Rams' head on a Lions logo, were sold in Michigan, perhaps one of the largest signs that fans in the state were still rooting for Stafford. 

Even Stafford's former Lions teammates were pulling for him in the Super Bowl, including long snapper Don Muhlbach. 

“I do wish we'd had done it here [in Detroit]," Muhlbach told ESPN's Michael Rothstein. "It would have been better if we all could have done it together, but I think a lot of his old teammates are thinking the same thing I do. We're all so happy for him.”

His former teammates also voiced support for the veteran after he won the Super Bowl, congratulating him on the victory via Twitter. 

Stafford had a magical first season with the Rams. During the regular season, he went 12-5, completing 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. 

In three playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl, he completed 72 percent of his passes for 905 yards and six touchdowns against one interception. He also had two rushing touchdowns. 

On Sunday against the Bengals, he completed 26 of 40 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which really wasn't his fault. 

His performance helped secure a second Super Bowl title for the Rams and immediately validated the trade L.A. made to bring him in during last year's offseason.