Matthew Stafford on Recent Turnovers: 'There's No Excuse For Those'

Matthew Stafford has not played well for the Detroit Lions in 2020

Matthew Stafford has not played anywhere near the level he did back in 2019.

He has turned the ball over at a much higher rate than last season, and his mistakes have come in many different varieties. 

Opposing defenses have done a good job of not allowing Stafford and the offense to execute on many deep throws. 

As a result, Stafford is holding onto the football far too long, allowing opposing defenses to rack up sack totals.

The absence of star wideout Kenny Golladay has not helped an offense looking to establish more consistency weekly.

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Stafford's turnovers, fumbles, and interceptions have been costly in Detroit's five losses on the 2020 season. 

"It comes down to execution. Throwing and catching, all of it. We're still trying to push the ball down the field. Teams are doing a nice job of trying to keep it in front of them. I'm trying to take what the defense has given me. And as far as the turnovers go, there's no excuse for those. Just can't have them. I think four in the last two weeks, that is too many. I'm going to do everything I can to try to make sure that doesn't happen again," Stafford said during his media session Wednesday.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell did not want to point the blame squarely on Stafford's shoulders -- instead choosing to explore the issues of the offensive as a whole. 

"The one thing that we were harping on this week from last week is the turnovers over the last couple of weeks, you know, and continuing to make good decisions. 

"Obviously, we're getting played a little bit different at times. There's a myriad of things that we can sit here and talk about. I wouldn't place it all at the feet of Matthew," Bevell said Tuesday. "Offense is a thing where you have to have 11 guys working together as one. It all builds together -- whether it's protections, whether it's route running, all of it is together, and we're all in it together getting them in the right situations. Guys taking care of all their business up front, guys doing a great job on the outside. So it all works together and we're all not doing a good enough job right now."

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!