NFL Honors 2012 Predictions: Matthew Stafford, Comeback Player of the Year

According to Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Weekly, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was named Comeback Player of the Year:

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No matter how you look at it, the PFW/PFWA Comeback Player of the Year Award suits Lions QB Matthew Stafford.

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Now with that being said, the award has yet to be officially announced.

In an article by Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com, the NFL recognizes the winner by the Associated Press:

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The NFL-recognized AP comeback player of the year award will be announced on February 4, the day before Super Bowl XLVI.

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The fortunate aspect here however, is that for Stafford, NFL history is on his side. Since the award began in 1972, 21 quarterbacks have won it, and four of the last five (last four consecutive) have been quarterbacks.

As for Stafford's numbers in 2011, they were nothing short of spectacular.

He had a 63.5 completion percentage, 5,038 passing yards with 41 touchdowns to just 16 picks and a final rating of 97.2. He also had a solid performance against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card Round.

There, Stafford went 28-of-43 for 380 yards and three touchdowns to two picks, a 65.1 completion percentage and a rating of 97.0.

Compared to how he performed during his first two seasons, this was an amazing turnaround. Then again, Stafford was also injured more often than not in 2009 and 2010.

His numbers combined during those years consisted of 13 games played, 19 touchdowns to 21 picks, an average completion percentage of 56.35 and a 76.15 rating. Perhaps the most impressive aspect from his 2011 season though, was that Stafford led the Lions to their first playoff appearance since 1999.

In addition, Stafford shredded defenses despite not receiving any help from Detroit's defense (allowed almost 370 total yards per game) or a rushing offense that averaged 95.2 yards per game (ranked No. 29).

Now include injuries to running backs Jahvid Best and rookie Mikel Leshoure (who didn't see the field), and Detroit's only chance for success was an injury-prone quarterback who missed roughly 60 percent of the games through his first two seasons.

Going 10-6 and making the postseason however, made all football fans and critics alike forget about the past, because we all now know that the Lions are going to be great for quite some time.

John Rozum on Twitter.