Should the Lions just shut down Matthew Stafford after latest injury?

DETROIT — Matthew Stafford has said over and over again he has no interest in shutting it down for a second straight season.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think he’ll let that happen,” interim head coach Darrell Bevell joked the other day.

You have to admire the resilience. Stafford is one of the great iron men in the history of the position, once starting 136 games in a row, the seventh longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history. He’s continued to play this year too despite ripping the cartilage in his ribs and partially tearing a ligament in his throwing hand. The rib injury has been especially painful, but Stafford has continued to play, even with the Lions already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

But you really have to wonder whether the Lions should take that decision out of Stafford’s hands after his latest injury.

Stafford lasted just one series before rolling his right ankle in the 47-7 loss against Tampa Bay on Saturday afternoon. He tried to tape it up and give it a go on the sideline, but remained in so much pain the Lions called for a cart to bring him to the locker room.

The prideful Stafford refused the cart, instead hopping on one leg into the tunnel behind the home bench.

“(Stafford’s) obviously not feeling great,” third-string quarterback David Blough said. “He’s going to get that stuff looked at, and it’s a bummer. You come out and you never expect for that stuff to happen, especially as early on as it did, and I feel bad for him. That’s why Chase (Daniel) and I are here, to go out there and play. I wish Matthew the best of luck and I hope it comes back great and we’ll see where he’s at as the week goes on, I guess.”

With a defense that is closing in on the team record for yards allowed in a season, Stafford has helped prevent this team from falling apart completely. Without him, that’s exactly what happened.

Tom Brady stacked up five touchdown drives on six series in the first half, and connected with four different players on scoring passes. Tampa Bay racked up 410 yards in the first half alone, while the Lions managed just 87. They didn’t cross the 50-yard line until the fourth quarter and never did enter the red zone for the second time this season.

They also didn’t score any offensive points for the second time this season.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn signed Chase Daniel to a three-year, $13.05 million contract for a moment such as this. That’s among the biggest contracts in the league for a backup quarterback. Yet Daniel’s eight drives produced six punts, one fumble (by D’Andre Swift), plus the end of the first half — and no offensive points of any kind whatsoever. He finished 13 of 18 passing for 86 yards before David Blough replaced him in the fourth quarter.

“I just think that we weren’t good enough, starting with me,” Daniel said. “I didn’t really do my job as a backup should do — come in and move the ball down the field. I think that converting 1-of-10 third downs, that’s probably one of (the problems) — not staying on the field. I thought we were in some third-and-manageables, too. That’s a good defense up front. They were bringing some pressure packages. We just weren’t on our A-game at all.”

Blough was acquired via trade last year and wound up starting five games while Stafford dealt with a broken back. He returned as the third quarterback this season, but had not seen the field until Sunday. He was 6 of 10 passing for 49 yards and a quarterback rating colder than the December temperatures outside Ford Field — 32.9.

“Obviously it’s tough, man,” Blough said. “We have to go out there and try and execute the best we can. As an offense, we expect better than what we showed out there today. I think all across the board, no one feels sorry for us, nobody cares that we’re down coaches or whatever. It’s the situation we’re in. We’re supposed to go out there and produce, so it’s frustrating.”

The Lions were down five coaches due to COVID protocols, including interim head coach/offensive playcaller Darrell Bevell. That forced receivers coach Robert Prince into the interim interim head coaching role, while quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan called the offensive plays from the booth.

“I thought he was really good,” Daniel said. “I thought he was high energy all week. I thought he took every advantage of his opportunity. Us as an offense, we didn’t help him out at all. It’s hard to call — sort of stay with a base defense when you’re down quite a bit. No excuses from anybody. It’s a grown-man’s league, and we have to handle our business week-in and week-out, and we just didn’t do it today.”

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