The Lions Having To Go Through Matthew Stafford In The Playoffs Is Beautifully Poetic
It had to happen. Some things in sports are just meant to be, and this was meant to be. With Aaron Rodgers now in the AFC and injured, the Lions are winning their first playoff game in my lifetime against him became impossible. Having to go through him would've felt fitting, but he got shipped off to New York. After him, it only makes sense that for the Lions to do something they haven't done since the early '90s, they have to go through the man they traded.
The Matthew Stafford trade is one of those deals that looks good for both sides. The Lions were starting a rebuild and got rid of Stafford, who went to LA and won himself the Super Bowl. Detroit got exactly what it needed, which was draft capital. Brad Holmes has been a master in the draft so far, and it's a reason why the Lions find themselves in the position they're in. This was not a fluky run. This Lions team was explosive from the jump. They deserve the flowers they'll get in the regular season, but the regular season isn't going to mean a whole lot when toe meets leather on Sunday.
Advertisement
How do I feel about the matchup? Nervous. And I'm not nervous just because I'm afraid of Matthew Stafford returning to haunt Detroit. This is a completely different Lions team. If this is a revenge game, it's probably more of a revenge game for Jared Goff, who wants to get back at the team that gave up on him. What concerns me is the Lions' secondary, and really, their defense as a whole. Every time I feel like the Lions defense is on the verge of turning a corner, they'll have a second half like what they had against the Vikings yesterday, where they gave up a bunch of explosive plays. Players like CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson have torched the Lions secondary this year. I'm scared about what Cooper Kupp and Puka may have in store.
Dan Campbell is The real X factor in this game. Campbell has done a remarkable job. The record speaks for itself. The culture has been fantastic, and the players have bought in. The biggest concern I had when he was brought here was that I knew, at some point, he would get into a big game in which he would have to out Coach the opposition in a big game. Andy Reid has been able to do it, Bill Belichick has done it 1 million times, and Sean McVay, who will be opposing Dan Campbell in this game, has done it. We've loved the aggressiveness that he's shown this year, but they can't get too cute on Sunday. The coaching matchup is the most intriguing matchup of this game. But it had to be this way. It had to be Stafford. It had to be the Rams.