Matthew Stafford rules out injury in Lions defeat to Bears – NFL News
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford faced a torrid night yesterday as his Detroit Lions team was demolished by their division rivals Chicago Bears 37-17.
The Quarter Back put in a poor performance during the match as he played through a fractured finger and ended the game with 33 carries from 63 attempts. Four of his passes were intercepted as the Bears punished the Lions for an
error prone performance with the Bears scoring on two interception returns in the third period.
However like yesterday night Stafford dismissed speculation that the injury was to blame for his performance and told reporters
“It had nothing to do with throwing interceptions," Stafford said Monday, according to the Detroit Free Press. "When I went out there and played, I didn't feel it."
Stafford is likely to be included in the Lions line up for Sunday’s visit to the Ford Field by the Carolina Panthers and is continuing to practice with gloves in training to better grip the ball as his injured finger continues
to heal saying
"It's not really strong enough or healthy enough to grip without them [gloves]," Stafford said.
When asked about his performance yesterday the Quarter Back responded by saying that the windy conditions at the Soldiers Field had a greater role to play rather than his finger in the performance and the was swerving a lot in
flight leading to the interceptions.
Lions Coach Jim Schwartz echoed his quarterback’s analysis of the Lions performance by blaming the windy conditions to the loss saying
“He threw the ball very well last Thursday and Friday,” Schwartz said. “… The issue in this game was the wind, and the wind affected both quarterbacks about equally. One team had to throw the ball an awful lot, and the other team
didn’t.”
The Lions only touchdown during the game came late in the fourth quarter when Stafford finally found a team mate with his pass and Tony Scheffler scored the touchdown with a ten yard run. The Bears were rampant throughout the game
as they pressured the Lions team into making crucial mistakes and with their Quarter Back not in his peak condition the Bears comfortably won their encounter against their division rivals.
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