4. Lions 26 Jaguars 19
Stafford again took over two different scoring drives in the 4th quarter. The first drive took the lead, and the second essentially ended the game. With 13:24 left in the game, the Lions took over on their own 21-yard line. After a few first downs, the offense found themselves in 3rd and 13 situation. Stafford dropped back to pass and found himself under immediate pressure. Cleverly avoiding the pass rush, (the story of Stafford’s 2016 season) he stepped up and found Ebron who ran a great route to get wide open. Ebron took the pass for 61 yards down the eight, and ran it in for a touchdown two plays later.
The defense forced a three and out and Stafford took over at his own 15 with 8:19 to go. Up by four points, the offense engineered a 14-play drive that took up 60 yards, and more importantly, 7:57 off the clock to ice the game with a Prater field goal.
Rating: The Jaguars defense was above average most of the year, and Stafford again owned the 4th quarter. 7.4/10 Jim Caldwell excited face
3. Lions 39 Colts 35 (Away)
One of only two come-from-behind wins that came away from Ford Field was week one of the regular season against the Colts. Little did anyone know that this was only the beginning of a wild, ‘Groundhog Day’ style of a season.
Even though Chuck Pagano played a huge part in the Lions winning this one, the credit here will be given to Stafford. Without discounting what happened in the last :37 seconds, this game had already been a wild affair. The Lions jumped out to an early 21-3 lead, and were up by 10 entering the 4th quarter. Andrew Luck would lead a few scoring drives to tie the game and take the lead after Prater missed an extra point. Then Stafford would take over.
At the Detroit 25, with 37 seconds to play in the game, the Lions were down by 2. The Colts had a 99.39% chance of winning according to Pro Football Reference. Reggie Wayne had marked the Colts down for a “W.” 19 yards to Theo Riddick, the Colts chances of winning is 69.12%. 9 yards to Eric Ebron, 56.67%. 22 yards to Marvin Jones, 35.38%. Matt Prater from 43 yards, the field goal is good, .22%. Safety, 0%. The Lions are 1-0.
Rating: The degree of difficulty is nearly unmatched, going 50 yards in 30 seconds. The Lions were helped from Pagano’s terrible clock management, not enough to hurt the ranking. 8.2/10 Jim Caldwell excited face.
2. Lions 20 Redskins 17
Peter Schrager of ‘Good Morning Football’ had just said Matthew Stafford might be the best quarterback in the NFL prior to this game. No pressure to perform against the surging Redskins team, then.
This particular drive by Stafford was special. He had been relatively quiet throughout the game sans a beautiful 52-yard bomb to Marvin Jones early on in the game. With 1:05 to play, all three timeouts left, number nine only needed six plays to get seven points. A side-arm specialty flick to Jones for 23 yards. A 14-yard scramble. 20 yards to Andre Roberts who made a terrific catch. Two incompletions later, a pin-point, inch perfect touchdown throw to Mr. Third Down himself, Anquan Boldin.
That drive was the essence of the “two minute drill.” The Lions needed to score a touchdown to win. The defense knew, but were powerless to stop it. The six plays also showed off exactly who Matthew Stafford is as a quarterback. The first pass was one that no one else in the league could pull off, or will even try to. Escaping pressure and running for a first down. Two risky throws that both paid off in the end. 2016 Stafford in a nutshell.
Rating: Even with 3 timeouts, needing to score a touchdown with 1 minute left is always difficult, and Stafford made it look easy. Almost too easy. 8.8/10 Jim Caldwell excited face.
1. Lions 22 Vikings 16 (Away)
The best way to help break in a new division rival’s stadium is to beat them in miraculous and devastating fashion. Stafford is about that life, and so is Golden Tate.
After a familiar, deliberately slow, soul-crushing drive from the Vikings to take a three point lead with 23 seconds left, most people felt like even this may be too much for Stafford and company to handle. They needed to go at least 35 yards in less than 23 seconds with no timeouts. The Vikings could have pinned them deeper than the 25, too, because of a 15 yard personal foul penalty they gained on the prior play. Luckily for the Lions, they chose not to.
Still, 35 yards in 23 seconds, also needing a spike to stop the clock, is outrageous. So, of course, Stafford hit Tate for an 8 yard out and Roberts with a long-developing 27 yard in, got up to the line with all of his teammates, and stopped the clock. Naturally, Prater split the uprights for his 3rd field goal of the game. The Lions won the toss and received in overtime.
11 plays later, this happened:
There was no question in my mind that this game would end up with the top spot. No one saw the 35 yards in 23 seconds coming, let alone making the 58 yard field goal. Then to step on the opposition’s throat and bury them, that’s how you finish a game off.
Rating: Nothing else to say. As far as comebacks go, you don’t get much more exciting or flawless. 10/10 Jim Caldwell excited face.
Here’s to 2017 not having to need as many inconceivable comebacks to win games. As for 2016, it was a fun ride that I’d like not to ride again soon.
Next: Are Zenner, Abdullah and Riddick enough for Lions run game?