How Lions QB Matthew Stafford Has Become the New Comeback King

Quarterback Matthew Stafford is having far from his best year statistically, but the NFL's new comeback king is still providing big plays in the biggest moments for the Detroit Lions—holders of a sparkling 7-2 record and winners of three straight games of the come-from-behind variety. 

Through nine games, Stafford is on pace to throw for 4,437 yards and 23 touchdowns, which would represent his lowest-ever yardage total and second-lowest number of touchdowns over a full 16-game season. His quarterback rating sits at 86.8, roughly three points above his career average but still well below his career-high mark of 97.1. 

The traditional stats don't accurately define the success of Stafford in 2014. Instead, his coolness under pressure and production in game-winning situations have helped rewrite the book on the Lions quarterback. 

Stafford has led three fourth-quarter comebacks in 2014, tying a career high for one season and bringing his career total to 13. Since 2011, only Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys (13) has engineered more come-from-behind wins than Stafford's 11. And while many have pegged Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck as the NFL's comeback king, Stafford has eight come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter to Luck's seven since 2012. 

QB	Team	4QC
T.Romo	DAL	13
M. Stafford	DET	11
M. Ryan	ATL	10
E. Manning	NYG	10
J. Flacco	BAL	8
A. Smith	SF/KC	8

This season, Brian Hoyer of the Cleveland Browns and rookie Teddy Bridgewater of the Minnesota Vikings are the only other quarterbacks to complete three fourth-quarter comebacks.

"It's a good feeling as a quarterback to have the ball in your hands at the end of a game, everybody looking to you to make a play," Stafford told reporters. "You're not going win the game every time, but we've been very successful this year as a team, as an offense, in those situations."

The Lions have won 31 games in which Stafford has started since drafting him No. 1 overall in 2009. The 13 comebacks represent almost 42 percent of the win total. In 2014, nearly half of Detroit's wins have come via the comeback. 

	4th-Quarter Comebacks	Game-Winning Drives
2009	1	1
2010	1	1
2011	3	4
2012	3	3
2013	2	3
2014	3	3
TOTALS	13	15

In Week 7, the Lions rallied back from down 13 to beat the New Orleans Saints by a single point. Stafford threw a touchdown pass to receiver Corey Fuller to put the Lions up 24-23 with one minute, 54 seconds left. 

Across the Atlantic Ocean a week later, Detroit stormed back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to shock the Atlanta Falcons by a single point. Stafford threw for two scores and helped set up the game-winning kick as time expired in the fourth quarter to seal a 22-21 win in London.  

Last Sunday, the Lions threw away an early lead but came back twice in the fourth quarter to eventually beat the Miami Dolphins by four points. Stafford's 11-yard touchdown to running back Theo Riddick with 29 seconds gave Detroit a 20-16 win. 

On game-winning drives this season, Stafford has completed 12 of 17 passes (not including three spikes) for 146 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating over the three drives was 115.8 (when accounting for 20 total attempts).

Even more impressive, Stafford has produced a 144.8 passer rating when trailing under four minutes in 2014.

Comeback wins being a quarterback stat is still an uncomfortable assumption, even if the position is generally the most responsible for completing the task. The Lions have clearly needed a team effort to pull off their come-from-behind wins this season.

	Biggest Deficit	Late Scenario	Result	Final Score
vs. NO	13	16-23	TD	24-23
vs. ATL	21	19-21	FG	22-21
vs. MIA	4	13-16	TD	20-16

Against the Saints, Stafford hit receiver Golden Tate for a 73-yard touchdown to close the gap to 23-17 with under five minutes to play. Yet Tate simply caught a 15-yard out on 3rd-and-long, made a few defenders miss and then raced down the sideline for the score. On New Orleans' ensuing possession, the Lions defense forced the Saints into 3rd-and-long and then intercepted quarterback Drew Brees—giving Stafford the football at the New Orleans 14-yard line. 

In London, the Falcons were able to jump out to a big lead in part due to the inefficiency of Stafford and the offense. The Lions punted on their first three possessions, and Stafford threw an interception to kill off the fourth drive.

The comeback effort was aided along by others. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw an inexcusable interception, and the defense forced three punts and allowed just 75 second-half yards. The final stop—helped by the ineptitude of the Falcons offense—gave Stafford a chance many believed he wouldn't even receive.  

Even last week, when the Lions lulled through six straight drives without scoring, the Detroit defense was called upon to make a stop after Stafford and the offense went three-and-out with the score 16-13. Given a second opportunity, the Lions cashed in with seven points and a win. 

Stafford sparked the final drive against Miami, hitting Tate for 17 yards and Calvin Johnson for 18 more before the two-minute warning. 

After the chunk plays, Stafford said he met with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on the sideline, and the two agreed to "go score and win this thing." After completing a 3rd-and-10 throw to Johnson to move the chains, Stafford threaded the needle to Riddick on another third down—using a sidearm delivery while scrambling to his left to fit the football in for the winning score.

Without the late heroics from Stafford and the offense this season, the Lions could very easily be floating around .500 and lost in the shuffle of a deep NFC. Instead, Detroit is leading the NFC North at 7-2 and in possession of the No. 2 overall seed in the conference. 

"By no means are we playing perfect football, but we're finding ways to win games," Stafford said. "That's the way the NFL goes."

The Lions would be winners of seven straight—with four of five coming on game-winning drives—had kicker Alex Henery connected on a 50-yard field goal with under a minute to go against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. 

The supersized numbers aren't all there for the Lions quarterback. He's averaging roughly 30 passing yards fewer per game than during 2011-2013, and his touchdown percentage of 3.8 is a half-point lower than his career average of 4.3. Stafford is also on pace to throw over 30 fewer passes in 2014 than 2013. 

Numbers matter less when a team is winning football games. Odds appear to mean even less to the Lions. 

With 4:16 left to go against the Saints, the "Win Probability" system at pro-football-reference.com gave the Lions a 0.0 percent chance of winning. At halftime in London, Detroit was given a 2.0 percent chance to win. After kicking a field goal to go up 16-13 last Sunday, the Dolphins were handed a 90.4 percent win probability. 

Maybe the old adage is true, and these cats are just using up what's left of their nine lives. Or maybe Stafford simply has the untraceable and unquantifiable "clutch gene," giving him powers late in the games others don't possess. Either way, the Lions are roaring atop Pride Rock, and Stafford has crowned himself the NFL's new comeback king.

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2