Matthew Stafford Must Be Detroit Lions’ MVP For Successful 2014 Season
By Travis Newville
@travisto989
Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Matthew Stafford could be the most important piece of the puzzle for the Detroit Lions. He means more to the Lions’ offense right now than even Calvin Johnson, and Detroit has also not been able to run the ball efficiently of late. The hopes and dreams of the Lions could very well rest on the shoulders of their young quarterback.
Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he has the stats to back it up. He still has plenty of doubters, however. The one thing that separates the elite quarterbacks of the NFL from Stafford is wins.
Stafford leads all NFL quarterbacks ever in career passing yards per game with an average of 286.7 passing yards per game. He also leads all quarterbacks in passing attempts per game and has shown that he can put together drives to win games with his arm.
This season looks a bit more promising for Stafford. Joe Lombardi has the Detroit offense playing a little bit more cautious when they are leading late in games, and he is emphasizing the run in the right situations. He also has Stafford playing a bit more cautious altogether, and improvement can be noted in his decision making.
If the Lions’ contest against the New York Jets was any indicator of what Stafford can play like, then the rest of the league had best watch out. The Lions are 3-1 on the season, but the one loss did come with Stafford’s weakest performance.
Johnson still is not quite healthy, but Stafford has a new target in Detroit. Golden Tate has picked up the slack happily, and he is the Lions’ second leading receiver through four games. He has a definite shot at passing Johnson on Detroit’s 2014 team leaders chart for receiving yards this Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, and it is partly because Stafford has been getting him the ball more often.
Detroit is doing exactly what they need to be doing to try to win the NFC North by winning games early in the season. The toughest stretch of the Lions’ schedule has yet to come, and scenarios change very quickly in the NFL. That is why the Lions will need Stafford to be their MVP if they want to make a playoff run.
Travis Newville is a Detroit Lions writer at www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on twitter @travisto989. Connect with him on Facebook here, or add him to your network on Google.
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