In head coach Matt Patricia's Friday press conference, he announced that quarterback Matthew Stafford would not play in Sunday's home game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Patricia said there was a medical plan in place for Stafford, but he declined to go into further detail.
After suffering a back injury in the loss to Oakland two weeks ago, Stafford was a limited participant in practice the week heading into the Bears game. Medical scans done last Friday put Stafford's availability in question. He missed the Bears game, ending his streak of 136 consecutive starts.
"I was probably in one of the weirder places I've been mentally in a long time watching that game. It was tough," Stafford said this week of missing the game. "Obviously, I want to be out there with the guys. I think it was the right decision, a collective decision, but it's tough. I love playing this game. Work really hard to try and be out there for my teammates and wasn't able to do it, tough pill to swallow."
Stafford sat out practice all this week. Quarterback Jeff Driskel took snaps with the first-team offense, and is likely to start for the second straight week in place of Stafford. Driskel went 27 of 46 for 269 yards with a touchdown and interception in Detroit's loss to Chicago.
"Preparing has been the same," Driskel said Wednesday. "You get here first thing in the morning and you kind of figure out what the plan is for the week. I'd say the biggest difference for me is all you guys standing around my locker.
"It's business as normal. Taking as much information as you can, go practice it, look at it after practice, take it home, look at it some more and be ready for (Thursday), a third down day."
COWBOYS COMING TO TOWN
The Dallas Cowboys are coming to town this weekend, and they bring with them a true triple threat on offense with quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
"Those guys all love ball," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said in a conference call interview. "They love being part of our team. They go about it the right way. We're lucky to have them."
Prescott, Cooper and the Cowboys' passing attack in particular, are coming into this game red hot, but they're looking to improve their run game that struggled a little bit last week in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
"Very frustrating," Cooper said when asked his feelings on the lack of run production. "We love to run the ball here. That's part of our identity. When teams take that away, we're limited. We have the best running back in the league.
"We have to be better."
For Mike O'Hara's full scouting report on the Cowboys, click here.
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- Click here for the full Lions-Cowboys injury report with game designations for Sunday's contest.
- In the fourth episode of Goin' Nuts with T.J., T.J. Lang meets up with offensive lineman Frank Ragnow at Glass Academy in Dearborn to learn the art of glass blowing.
- The NFL announced Tuesday that Detroit’s Week 16 game in Denver will be played on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 4:05 p.m.
- To celebrate NFL 100, the Lions are sitting down with some of the most loyal, longtime fans. Meet superfan Lioness Tutu.
- Catch up on all the news from Darrell Bevell and Paul Pasqualoni's Tuesday media sessions.
