| Detroit Free Press
Detroit Lions quarterback gutted out more than three quarters of play in the loss at Tennessee on Sunday.
With a rib injury, a busted thumb on his throwing hand, and, well, 12 years of playing QB for the Lions, Stafford had plenty of reason to not go out there for a team that theoretically has no chance at the playoffs (and with Sunday’s loss, officially eliminating them).
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Still, Stafford dropped a few jaws with this play near the goal line.
Dan Orlovsky, the ESPN analyst and Stafford’s ex-teammate in Detroit, highlighted how good the 2-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones was in the second quarter.
Orlovsky, who is emerging as the best play breakdown analyst in the business, dissected the play which left Stafford throwing a no-look pass, whizzing by several Titans defenders, that led Jones in the back of the end zone.
“It’s remarkable,” Orlovsky said in his breakdown, posted on Twitter on Tuesday. “People have been saying that (Chiefs QB) Patrick Mahomes started the no-look. I love Mahomes, but this dude (Stafford) has been doing it since 2009.”
“Gosh, this dude’s so good. The no-look king.”
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This echoes what one of Stafford’s contemporaries, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, went out of his way to laud the Lions quarterback last month during former Colts kicker Pat McAfee’s podcast.
“A guy who probably doesn’t get anywhere near the credit for doing (expletive) like that all the time, he wears No. 9 and plays in Detroit. That dude, what he does with the ball is impressive. It’s really, really impressive,” Rodgers said.
“That dude is throwing crazy no-lookers all the time. And he can throw from any arm angle. I don’t think he gets; maybe it’s Detroit.”
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Others took notice of Stafford’s incredible play, including teammate Jamal Agnew:
Charlotte Hornets forward and Flint native Miles Bridges:
And the guys at Pro Football Focus:
Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.