Dan Orlovsky Suggests Matthew Stafford Wants to Light Up Lions
Both Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff remained cordial ahead of their Week 7 matchup Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium.
Despite different circumstances, both quarterbacks are hoping to play their best game this week, in front of their former teams.
Appearing on "The Pat McAfee Show" earlier this week, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky suggested that Stafford and Co. have a strong desire to leave no doubt who won the blockbuster offseason trade.
"I mean this should come as no surprise. Matthew’s got an ego, so does his head coach Sean McVay. Those guys will try to make sure that this is a one-sided affair for sure," Orlovsky told McAfee.
Orlovsky added, "Not in a disrespectful way, but they will make sure that the narrative is, ‘We told you so,' coming out of that football game. I think Matthew can, if you watched the Lions on tape against the Bengals defensively, you’re going, ‘Woah, what are you guys trying to do? What are you trying to accomplish?’ I’d be surprised if Matthew didn’t get over 350 (yards passing), I could see him going over 400. And, I think Dan Campbell’s comments about Jared are probably somewhat justified, but I also think he’s playing with, very much so, his hand tied behind his back as a quarterback."
Similar to how he played toward the end of his tenure in Los Angeles, Goff's passing statistics have left a lot to be desired.
In fact, on third down, his average pass is 1.1 yards short of the first-down marker, which ranks 31st in the entire league.
Despite Goff's struggles to start the 2021 season, there does not appear to be any indications that the Lions will go in a different direction -- at least for the remainder of this season.
Meanwhile, Stafford has been mentioned consistently as a league MVP candidate, and has led his new team to a 5-1 start to the 2021 season.