Hint of Greatness?

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS AN OVERLOAD OF STAFFORD MAN-LOVE.

Down six, 1:46 left to go.  88 yards of turf to go.  No timeouts.  Quarterbacks can achieve greatness or fall into oblivion It's the situation that quarterbacks dreams of...

...well, kind of.  It wasn't exactly the biggest stage, as two 1-8 teams were fighting for the rights to 31st on most power rankings, but for both teams, the game meant something.  

The drive wasn't the prettiest, as Matthew Stafford and the Lions dinked and dunked their way towards midfield eating up more clock than they could've afforded to.   It all led to a 2nd and 10 from Cleveland's 32 yard line with :08 left on the clock.  The Lions had time to run two plays; perhaps one to get 10-15 yards closer and give themselves one more chance to win. 

Stafford took the snap.  Looking downfield, he was indecisive.  Suddenly he rolled to his left, at that point, it was pretty clear this was going to be the Lions last play of the game.  As a defender closed in on him, everyone in Ford Field was screaming for him to get rid of the ball.  Instead, Stafford rolled back right, avoiding the sack, set his feet and fired downfield.  Stafford had no idea what happened.  As soon as the ball left his hand, he was crushed, landing forcefully on his left shoulder.  As he grimaced in pain on the turf, I'm sure he could figure out what happened.  The crowd groaned as the pass landed in the defender's hand in the endzone as the clock read 0:00.

But then, a little yellow rag fell from the heavens, like a green mushroom landing in Mario's lap as he fell into a pit of doom.  Pass interference, Cleveland.  First down on the one yard line.  The Lions were still alive. 

But Stafford wasn't thinking about the next, game-deciding play. He was writhing in pain.  Stumbling towards the endzone, grasping his shoulder, Stafford knew he couldn't stay in. 

So Daunte Culpepper stepped in.  As he went under center, my expectations were lower than with the previous game.  I don't know what the play call was, but I'd be surprised if it was a pass.  With Shaun Rogers in the middle of that line, they probably would've lost the game.  But then, miracle #2 happened.  Cleveland, trying to get a read on Detroit's play call, called a timeout. 

It was at this point that Stafford turned into an NFL quarterback.  Stafford stepped in.  Tossing his left arm to the side like a candy wrapper, he went under center.  Taking the snap, he thew a laser directly aimed at Brandon Pettigrew's shoulder.  For mere mortals, the ball would've gone directly through their body, leaving a carcass with a NFL sized hole.  But Pettigrew snagged the ball, likely breaking all the fingers in his hands.*  And  just like that, the Lions had won and become the leading contender for the Wild Card.   Stafford, knowing that the ball was caught from the moment he fired it from his fingers, tried to celebrate.  He attempted to raise his arms in elation, but the pain was too much.  He didn't even smile.  Instead, he looked to the sidelines in pain, screaming "It's out! It's out!" presumably referring to his left arm being out of his socket.  He didn't care he had just won the game; he knew the game was won at the beginning of the drive.  He was just in utter shock that his perfectly molded body could possibly be tarnished to a point in which he had the arm of a mere peon.

(Alright, back to reality)

With that pass, Stafford became the first rookie in NFL history to throw five TD passes in a game.  But the pass had a lot more significance than that.  He had successful driven his team to a game-winning drive, he drastically improved the chances of the Lions avoiding the first pick in the draft, and he created a moment in his life that he'll never forget.  If Stafford becomes a Pro Bowl quarterback at any point in his career (AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT WILL HAPPEN), people will point to this game as his first defining moment.  Despite having the use of only one arm, Stafford managed to throw a game-winning touchdown in his rookie year.

Sure there are reasons to downplay this accomplishment.  It wasn't a pretty drive; without a fortunate pass interference call, Stafford may be the goat, with another three-interception game; and most importantly, it was done against Cleveland. 

But none of those points matter in a win.  Stafford finished 26-43 for 422 yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs, in a winning effort.  He created a moment in which he and Lions fans alike will not forget in a long time. 

We're 2-8, YAY!

*In reality, it was probably the weakest throw Stafford made all day, but I'm riding high right now, so humor me.