![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Matthew Stafford no longer plays for the Detroit Lions, but that has not stopped folks from cheering the quarterback on as he navigates the 2022 NFL postseason.
Stafford earned his first playoff win a week ago, and wasted no time earning a second over the weekend in comeback fashion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Stafford led the Rams down the field after the Buccaneers had tied the game and into field goal position. Matt Gay made the kick, and Los Angeles will play for a Super Bowl appearance next weekend.
The latest Lions news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Lions newsletter here!
The game was very exciting for fans as well as players, and many of them hopped on Twitter and were excited in the aftermath of the big victory.
Lions center Frank Ragnow was very excited about the play, and took to Twitter to share his excitement, posting about Stafford with multiple exclamation points as well.
Defensive lineman Nick Williams was also watching the game and said that he was happy for Stafford because as he said, he is a “straight killa” on the field of play.
In very explicit terms, Stafford’s former left tackle Taylor Decker shared his excitement over the quarterback’s win.
Jason Cabinda, Stafford’s former fullback, also said he was happy for him winning the game because he deserves it.
Safety Quandre Diggs said what everyone is thinking, just tweeting Stafford’s name. For some, that was all that needed to be said.
Former Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was a big Stafford fan from his time in Detroit, and acknowledged that the quarterback has long impressed him, even if he hasn’t always been able to be on the biggest of stages in order to get it done.
Finally, speaking for a good portion of the fanbase, Detroit Red Wings radio voice and Lions super fan Ken Kal said he was happy for Stafford, a guy who was great and classy in Detroit and may not have received much acknowledgment
It’s clear that those who used to play with Stafford or watch him up close are all in on the ride he could provide the rest of the way and are happy he managed to score a big victory in the playoffs.
Dan Orlovsky Dunks on Stafford Haters
Perhaps the best reaction, however, came from Stafford’s former backup and ESPN pundit Dan Orlovsky. As Orlovsky said while making a wardrobe change, Stafford’s win is a legacy defining experience, and a moment for plenty of people to realize where they were wrong on the player most of all.
“This is a career defining and legacy changing throw from Matthew Stafford,” Orlovsky said. “All you writers in Detroit who told me for years that your guy is not good enough, you were wrong. All the fas in Detroit, and I know I love a lot of you guys, who told me Matthew Stafford stunk, you were wrong. All those people on the internet who send me memes and say all your guy does is pad stats, you were wrong. For years I have told everybody Matthew Stafford is a great player and you say ‘he doesn’t win games.’ He played in Detroit. ‘He’s never been to the playoffs and won a game.’ He played in Detroit. This is the moment Matthew Stafford had to prove everybody wrong.”
Stafford still has a few more games to win before his legacy is completely changed, but in taking down Brady, he’s off to quite a good start. Orlovsky would know most of all what kind of personality and person Stafford is, so this is a good moment for him.
Stafford Grateful for Support From Lions Fans
Former players aren’t the only ones who have supported Stafford. Many Detroit fans continue to shower the quarterback with love as well as the Rams, pushed by not only their appreciation for the player and what he did in Motown, but what he meant to the community as well. The fans’ frustration over the Lions and their poor record and perpetual state of misery also helps this along.
Whatever the reasoning, Stafford is just glad the fans continue to remember him and support him along the way, which is something he revealed to the media as well.
Speaking with the media in Los Angeles on October 20 in an interview posted to TheRams.com, Stafford talked about his feelings for the fans who continue to support him.
“I mean, I appreciate that very much,” Stafford said. “I could see how it could be very easy for people to feel the other way, and for people to take some happiness in any kind of success a former player is having away from their building is just a testament to them, as well. That’s the kind of people they are in Detroit. Great people, both in the organization and in the city itself. I really did enjoy my time. I had great relationships built and maybe that has something to do with it. But I think that is more of a testament not to me, but to the people of Detroit that they an cheer an ex-player as much as they have me.”
Cheering for Stafford has become a major hot-button issue within the fanbase, with some folks going all-in on Stafford and the Rams in 2021 and beyond and some others not wishing to support Stafford.
It is clear former and current players as well as fans have gone all-in on Stafford. Next week, it will be interesting to see if that culminates in a Super Bowl appearance.
READ NEXT: Rich Eisen Praises Lions’ 2021 Identity
0 Comments