No one in Lions history has played the quarterback position better than 
Stafford set single-season records for passing yards (5,038), touchdowns (41), completions (421), attempts (663) and quarterback rating (97.2).
“I see him as one of the top quarterbacks in the league,” said Lions general manager Martin Mayhew. “I don’t think anybody’s holding out and still evaluating that. Five thousand yards, 41 touchdowns – he’s a great, young player. He’s 23 years old and he’s a franchise quarterback, so I was really thrilled to see what he did.”
So were Lions fans.
Stafford started all 16 regular-season games, putting to bed any doubts about his durability.
He even played through a three-game stretch during the middle of the season with a broken index finger on his throwing hand. Stafford threw nine interceptions over that stretch, but gutted through it.
The most impressive aspect of Stafford’s season was there never seemed to be a situation that was too big for him. Not even in Oakland, when the Lions trailed in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and needed Stafford to guide them on a 98-yard drive to win the game and save their playoff hopes.
TOP PERFORMER
This one is easy. Stafford became the second youngest player behind Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. Stafford was at his best when the season was on the line. He threw for 1,511 yards and 14 touchdowns over the final four games of the regular season when the Lions were fighting for a playoff spot. They went 3-1 over that span and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1999.
Backup quarterback
BY THE NUMBERS
3: Stafford was one of three quarterbacks to finish in the top five in the NFL in all six major passing categories. He was third in yards and touchdowns, fifth in quarterback rating and completion percentage, first in attempts and second in completions. Drew Brees and Tom Brady were the other two.
4: Stafford became just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season.
80.6: Completion percentage in a playoff-clinching victory over the Chargers in Week 16. Stafford completed 29-of-36 passes in the game. It was evidence that Stafford is no longer just a gunslinger, but has become an accurate gunslinger.
LOOKING FORWARD
It has to put a smile on the faces of Lions fans when they say Matthew Stafford and 23 years old in the same sentence. The Lions have their franchise quarterback for the next decade.
The backup position is still in flex, though. Both Shaun Hill and
Hill has to decide if he wants to try and start somewhere else, or if he’s content being Stafford’s backup. He said he liked his role on the team during locker clean out last week.
Stanton was inactive for all 16 games and the Lions need to decide if they’ve seen enough development to offer him another contract or start looking for a younger quarterback to develop.
“I like having three quarterbacks, but you know, you make those decisions, probably, in August,” Mayhew said. “We start putting our roster together trying to find the best 53 and if that third quarterback is one of the best 53, then we’ll probably keep him.”
