They “Predicted” The SuperBowl And Took A Shot At Matthew Stafford

They “Predicted” The SuperBowl And Took A Shot At Matthew Stafford

The SuperBowl has come and gone but as Lions fans we try to stay up on all the news regarding the Lions, and this little gem kinda got ignored primarily due being super busy for the SuperBowl; see what we just did there (lol)! Well take a look at it and tell us if it’s enough for you start demanding the Lions move on from Matthew Stafford at all costs…

They “Predicted” The SuperBowl And Took A Shot At Matthew Stafford

He’s only been leading the Kansas City Chiefs for two seasons, but Patrick Mahomes is already considered by some to be one of the best quarterbacks ever, which means that years down the line — when the internet is consumed with angry fans petitioning for a remake of the Game of Thrones prequel and complaining about how Kylo Ren’s son (don’t ask me how that’d work) shouldn’t have perished in Star Wars episode 12 — Mahomes is going to be measured against Tom Brady, the quarterback most consider to be the best to have ever played the game.

Barring a career-derailing injury to Mahomes or a new Patriots scandal that renders Brady’s accomplishments illegitimate, the comparison is inevitable. The number of championships they’ve won will undoubtedly be used as a measuring stick. So will their fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives, since it’s one tool we often use to judge great quarterbacks — like Brady, whose legacy began with a game-winning drive in Super Bowl XXXVI and peaked with the most improbable of comebacks in the history of sports against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.

What’s interesting about Mahomes, who will make his Super Bowl debut against the same coach who was coordinating the offense of the team that fell victim to that historic Brady comeback, is that his resume doesn’t include many game-winning drives or fourth-quarter comebacks. In 31 career starts in the regular season, he’s pieced together only four game-winning drives and three fourth-quarter comebacks. In four playoff starts, he technically has zero of either. For the sake of comparison, Deshaun Watson already has 10 game-winning drives and eight fourth-quarter comebacks in 38 regular-season games. Jimmy Garoppolo, who will meet the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, has four of each this season alone.

Peyton Manning holds the all-time record in fourth-quarter comebacks with 43. Brady isn’t far behind with 36. Manning also ranks first in game-winning drives with 54. Brady ranks fourth with 45. But if you factor in the postseason too, Brady actually has 45 fourth-quarter comebacks and 58 game-winning drives. Manning has 45 and 56, respectively. That’s why Brady has earned the reputation as the most-clutch quarterback of all time.

Using game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks to measure a quarterback’s greatness has always been somewhat paradoxical. Mounting a game-winning drive or fourth-quarter comeback means the quarterback in question didn’t play well enough to be carrying a lead late in the game. Ideally, a quarterback would play well enough in quarters one through three to be in a situation where his team is winning comfortably throughout the final quarter. That’s why it felt weird wrong when Matthew Stafford was briefly garnering MVP support in 2016 as he broke Peyton Manning’s single-season record for the most fourth-quarter comebacks. It ignored the fact that Stafford was actively playing a role in creating the deficits he was later overcoming much later in the game.

Mahomes’ lack of game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks shouldn’t be held against him. In his 31 career regular-season starts, the Chiefs are 24-7 and they’ve outscored their opposition by an average of 9.5 points per game. In his four career playoff starts, the Chiefs are 3-1 and they’ve outscored their opposition by an average of 10.8 points per game. Going through his game log and box scores, it’s remarkable how many big leads the Chiefs have held with Mahomes at quarterback. That’s far more important than game-winning drives or come-from-behind wins, because it eliminates the possibility of a loss…

How do the 49ers prevent Mahomes from engineering another remarkable comeback? They probably can’t.

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They game played out just like that, a remarkable comeback for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes…a similiar quarterback to our very own!

We may not like what was said about Matthew Stafford but there’s not much ground to stand on when all we have is the “almost” flag to plant as Lions fans!

We almost beat the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs barring the referees’ envolvement

 

We almost made the playoffs with homefield advantage barring dropping the ball in the Green Bay game for the division title!

We almost had a defensive identity that could have still been ongoing with pairing N’Damukong Suh and Aaron Donald and not drafting Eric Ebron.

We almost had an offensive identity that could have still been ongoing with pairing O’Dell Beckham Jr and Calvin Johnson and not drafting Eric Ebron.

With the 3rd pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Lions have the opportunity to set themselves up for the next decade and become a true contender for the title! Could they shake off the overwhelming weight of not winning a Superbowl ever by doing the unthinkable (at least here in Detroit) by taking Tua at #3 if as expected, Chase Young isn’t there?

Perhaps they could go Jerry Jeudy and pair him with Kenny Golladay for a dynamic duo for the next 5 years!

Or do the “easy and much needed”…pay Darius Slay and draft a Robin to his Batman by picking Ohio State’s Jeffery Okudah!

Honorable mention “move” convince Snacks Harrison to NOT retire and draft DT Derrick Brown to add to the expected strength of this much maligned defense!

Either way you slice it if the next 10 years are to be better than the last it’s either be by doing the conventional way of team building which will take almost a decade to completely do or be highly successful at spotting generational and talents that are last long in your system at nearly every draft pick you select!

Am we wrong for thinking to get the quick success of a playoff win or more the Lions and Bob Quinn may have to make the tough decision to move on from Stafford like this season or next?

Let me know below…

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