Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford Proves He Is Elite Against the Patriots

What was that?

When did the Lions trade for Tom Brady?

He looked great wearing the Honolulu blue No. 9 on Saturday night at Ford Field.  Wait, that wasn’t Brady? But, since when can a Lions QB look so much better than whoever is starting for the other guys?

And that, my friends, is how good Matthew Stafford was against the New England Patriots.  The final score of this game, 34-10, doesn’t matter, this is only the preseason.

What matters is that Stafford completed most of his passes, got hit, got up and completed some more passes.

At this point, the only question about Stafford is his health.  He has proven he is on his way to that rarefied level of being elite.  So far, in the preseason, his QB rating is a ridiculous 154.

If Nate Burleson did not drop the ball in the end zone on the first drive, Stafford’s QB rating for the preseason would be a near perfect 156.7.

The impressive thing is that he is doing this without a hint of a running game.  I wrote earlier that Stafford is not Peyton Manning and he needs a running game to succeed, I stand corrected.  The rapport he has developed with his top two receivers, Nate Burleson and Calvin Johnson, has now become obvious.

Throw in safety valves, Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler at tight end, and the secondary has its hands full.  On top of all that, at least in this game, the running backs were making nice catches out of the backfield.

I haven’t even mentioned second-round pick Titus Young.

No one really knows if Stafford can stay healthy, but in all fairness, he was injured on some vicious hits.  What this game showed is what the Lions have been preaching the last couple of years, the defense may have some flaws, but No. 9 is the great equalizer.

Now Stafford needs to catch the Barry Sanders flu and not be anywhere near Buffalo next week, no need to put him in harm’s way.

As for Tampa Bay’s secondary on September 11, good luck, the Stafford Express is rolling and you’ll be just another victim.