Matthew Stafford gets benched during Lions-Cardinals game
The Detroit Lions coaching staff had enough of quarterback Matthew Stafford’s poor play and sent him to the bench.
The Detroit Lions have not had a good season. They came into today’s game against the Arizona Cardinals with an 0-4 record and in desperate need of a victory.
Unfortunately, things got off to a rocky start immediately for Detroit, as they turned the ball over twice early on. By the time the middle of the third quarter came around, the Lions had six turnovers, three of which came on interceptions from quarterback Matthew Stafford, whose inconsistent play has come under fire lately.
By the time Stafford threw his third interception, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell had enough of what he saw and benched the former No. 1 overall pick. Backup Dan Orlovsky would take over. Stafford finished with 20 completions on 32 pass attempts for 188 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.
It seems like Stafford did not take the benching well, either.
Matt Stafford standing by himself, no helmet, down the sideline. Also, something just happened with Tate in the huddle. Pulled of the field.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 11, 2015
With the Cardinals up 35-7 and the Lions on their way to an 0-5 record, questions will continue to arise if Stafford is still the Lion’s long-term answer at quarterback. While he is still only 27 years old, the former Georgia standout has already played seven seasons and never won a playoff game. He has also totaled more than 15 interceptions in a season four times and is on pace to do so again this season if he holds the starting job (eight interceptions so far this season).
The fallout from this situation will be worth watching going forward to see if Caldwell commits to Stafford once today’s game end