There will be a lot of strong feelings during Sunday’s playoff game between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams. Some of those feelings will be bad, since a lot is at stake. The Rams will go to Detroit on Wild Card Weekend. This will be Matthew Stafford’s first game back at Ford Field and his return to Detroit.
In an Instagram post, the big Lions fan group “The Detroit Line” said Matthew Stafford should not wear a shirt to Sunday’s game. It said in the post,
"We want Jerseys from the Lions and the Staff to be banned on Sunday." This week, Detroit won't mark his birthday, and they shouldn't. In a sports sense, he is now our enemy. He asked to be switched. He was tired of this franchise and wanted the easy way out with a winner already picked out. Don't bring a Lions-Stafford T-shirt to the game. If you do that, we hope you get laughed at and your stuff is taken away. Don't try to be cute or funny right now. This is about business and putting the last nail in the coffin of SOL. Also, we'll take duct tape and a name plate that says "WILLIAMS" in Sharpie.
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Stafford played for Detroit for the first 12 years of his career. There, he became the team’s all-time best passer and one of the best players in club history. As the Lions started a new regime and rebuild, Stafford looked for a move so that he could end his career with a contender. Yes, Stafford did just that as he led the Rams to the Super Bowl in his first season.
Kelly, Matthew’s wife, responds to the post on Instagram, “Well this is sad because it’s the exact opposite of how we feel about this city, but Matthew has always been the bigger person and will continue to be that.” “Praying for an amazing game with no injuries.”
In 2021, Rams fans and Kelly helped send a big Stafford fan who went viral for how he reacted when Stafford completed a pass to Cooper Kupp in the last few seconds of the Divisional Round game to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 30 years, the Lions won their first NFC North title in its current form. This is the first playoff game they have hosted. Stafford led the Lions to the playoffs three times, but they never won a playoff game or played at home.
Since the Rams’ bye week in Week 11, Stafford has been one of the best passers in the NFL. Stafford has been fifth in the NFL in EPA per play since Week 11. Before the game on New Year’s Eve against the New York Giants, he had not thrown a pick in four games in a row. Stafford didn’t need a grudge when he got back to Detroit, but this will give him one for sure.
