Matthew Stafford will miss a third straight game on Sunday, and the Detroit Lions have to consider shutting him down.
With fractured bones in his back, Matthew Stafford seems unlikely to play anytime soon. So Friday’s announcement from head coach Matt Patricia the Detroit Lions’ quarterback will miss a third straight game Sunday against the Washington Redskins is not at all surprising.
After Sunday’s game, the Lions will have a short week before hosting the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving. So Stafford is all but sure to miss a fourth straight game, in what was once looking to be the best season of his career before his back issue came up.
The Lions shouldn’t have too much trouble beating the Redskins on Sunday. But they’ve lost five of their last six games, and that presumed win would only put them at 4-6-1 on the season. In a loaded NFC, winning out from here to finish at 9-6-1 might not be enough to make the playoffs.
Patricia has said Stafford’s status is a week-to-week thing. Stafford himself told reporters earlier this week there has been no talk of shutting him down for the season.
“It’s tough for me to sit there without the pads on and not be able to impact the game on the field the way I’m used to doing,” Stafford said. “That’s driving me to get back out there, and whenever we all deem it’s the right time for me to get back out there, I’ll be out there.”
Stafford’s desire to come back play this season is admirable, and to be expected. But the Lions are not rushing him back, with virtually nothing at stake and Jeff Driskel playing fairly well in his place.
The odds Stafford plays again this season already feel long, and Sunday’s result shouldn’t really tip those odds one way or the other. It will be just be more sand through the hourglass of the Lions’ 2019 season, with further diminished returns of having Stafford suit up.
By this time next week the Lions will have four games left, with no better than a 5-6-1 record. So a decision to shut down Stafford may come quickly as the calendar gets set to flip to December.