Interceptions
1-10-DET 48 (Q4, 12:32) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle intended for 81-C.Johnson INTERCEPTED by 23-M.White (21-T.DeCoud) at CAR 7. 23-M.White to CAR 30 for 23 yards (45-J.Collins).
On one hand, I would never recommend throwing into double coverage down the field. On the other, Calvin Johnson is so good at catching contested passes that Stafford has thrived off of doing just that. Calvin has the kind of ability that turns bad decisions into good ones, and I can’t fault Stafford and the Lions’ offense for exploiting that in a lot of cases. On this particular play, however, I think Stafford clearly makes a mistake by targeting Calvin. Golden Tate has found his way open against a zone at the bottom of the screen, and Stafford definitely has the time to notice that. You don’t need to go for a home run shot on every play, and Stafford paid for it here. I might have worked out, but Stafford didn’t get enough behind the pass and it was short of Calvin, then tipped and caught by the Panthers’ defense.
3-14-GB 42 (Q1, 3:55) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left intended for 10-C.Fuller INTERCEPTED by 21-H.Clinton-Dix at GB 17. 21-H.Clinton-Dix to GB 26 for 9 yards (35-J.Bell). PENALTY on DET-35-J.Bell, Low Block, 15 yards, enforced at GB 26.
Corey Fuller comes open on a deep curl here. Stafford’s throw isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough, and Fuller gets both hands on it, but it just goes right through them. I don’t fault Stafford for this interception. A NFL-level receiver needs to make this catch.
3-10-GB 49 (Q2, 13:36) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep right intended for 81-C.Johnson INTERCEPTED by 31-D.House at GB 1. 31-D.House to GB 1 for no gain (81-C.Johnson).
Once again, Stafford takes a shot to Calvin deep hoping Megatron can make a play on the ball, because he’s well covered. This time, he leads Johnson too far. It’s not a particularly smart decision, and it’s not a good throw. Stafford did have a TE open towards the closer hashes, but it was also 3rd and 10 and he probably would have been short of the first down. I guess it’s not all bad, because the Packers ended up with the ball on their 1 yard line (and the Lions would have been out of field goal range), so this was essentially a really good punt on third down.
2-8-BUF 38 (Q2, 10:33) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short left intended for 21-R.Bush INTERCEPTED by 24-S.Gilmore at BUF 28. 24-S.Gilmore pushed ob at BUF 49 for 21 yards (15-G.Tate).
Bush is running an out route and is open. Stafford just throws the pass behind him. I wouldn’t expect Bush to make this catch because of the positioning of the throw, but I don’t think it’s fully Stafford’s fault either because he gets unlucky on the bounce.
2-2-DET 18 (Q1, :23) 9-M.Stafford pass short right intended for 15-G.Tate INTERCEPTED by 28-K.Lewis at DET 29. 28-K.Lewis to DET 29 for no gain (87-B.Pettigrew).
I think Stafford misreads the coverage on this play. The Saints are in a Cover 2 zone, and I think Stafford though Lewis was in man on Fuller, which he clearly wasn’t. Stafford simply doesn’t see Lewis in the way, and he’s able to get in front of Tate and pick this pass off. This is a very poor decision by Stafford.
2-7-NO 13 (Q4, 8:53) 9-M.Stafford pass short left intended for 82-J.Thompson INTERCEPTED by 32-K.Vaccaro at NO 6. 32-K.Vaccaro to DET 49 for 45 yards (9-M.Stafford).
The Lions had a rash of TE injuries in 2014, and Jordan Thompson was pressed into duty. The throw is low, but he absolutely needs to make this catch. The fact that this play turned into an interception is unacceptable on the part of the receiver.
3-10-ATL 35 (Q2, 1:21) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left intended for 10-C.Fuller INTERCEPTED by 23-R.Alford at ATL 18. 23-R.Alford to ATL 18 for no gain (10-C.Fuller).
This interception once again isn’t fully Stafford’s fault, because Fuller slips when trying to make his break on what appears to be a deep curl route. However, I also don’t agree with Stafford’s decision to throw this pass, because Alford has solid coverage on Fuller. Even if Fuller doesn’t slip, I think Alford would have had a chance to break up the pass. Therefore, while I can’t give Stafford the full blame for this interception, I do give him partial blame.
1-10-MIA 31 (Q2, 5:30) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep right intended for 81-C.Johnson INTERCEPTED by 21-B.Grimes at MIA -1. Touchback.
This was the catch of the year before Odell Beckham did his thing. Grimes’ vertical leap on this play is insane, and combined with the fact that he only used one hand this is an astounding catch. If he had not done this, Calvin did have him cleanly beat for the TD. Stafford is still at fault for the interception, however, because he needs to get this pass up just a little higher to get it over Grimes’ head.
3-13-DET 44 (Q3, 4:14) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left intended for 81-C.Johnson INTERCEPTED by 26-R.Johnson (95-T.Kelly) at ARI 22. 26-R.Johnson to ARI 22 for no gain (81-C.Johnson).
Stafford has a bad habit of chucking up a prayer to Calvin Johnson and hoping for the best. This is the first interception he threw where he was actually pressured, and it’s not a good decision at all because he’s double covered. Also, the throw is nowhere near the target. Since it’s third and long and he doesn’t have any other good options, I guess this functions kind of like a punt, but that’s what the Lions pay Sam Martin for, so they would probably rather entrust those duties to him than Stafford.
1-10-DET 28 (Q4, 6:39) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle intended for 15-G.Tate INTERCEPTED by 26-L.Ryan (91-J.Collins) at NE 49. 26-L.Ryan to DET 49 for 2 yards. Lateral to 39-B.Browner to DET 46 for 3 yards (35-J.Bell).
On this play, Tate is running a seam route and gets inside position on Logan Ryan. Stafford makes the correct decision to identify this, but he’s hit as he throws by Jamie Collins and that causes his pass to go off target, allowing Ryan to make the interception. This play is really the fault of the offensive line for failing to effectively pick up the stunt run by the Patriots.
2-11-CHI 17 (Q2, 8:11) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left intended for 10-C.Fuller INTERCEPTED by 45-B.Vereen at CHI -8. Touchback.
On this play Stafford lets the pressure get to his head and tries to force a pass he shouldn’t have. Fuller is not particularly open and there are a number of Bears players with the potential to make the play on the ball. It’s not a particularly great throw, and it would have been much smarter to take a throwaway here than for this for the interception.
3-11-CHI 18 (Q2, 4:21) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left intended for 15-G.Tate INTERCEPTED by 21-R.Mundy at CHI 1. 21-R.Mundy to CHI 2 for 1 yard (15-G.Tate).
This throw is definitely off target, and I think it was tipped. It’s really difficult to tell. In any case, it’s third-and-long in scoring range, and Stafford definitely tries to force this throw. Tate is very well blanketed by the Bears’ defense and this throw doesn’t make much sense because Stafford does not have a lane that’s available for him to throw it into. This was a bad decision and an errant throw helped make this an interception. Stafford should have instead taken one of his available check down options and hope for a first down but accept the field goal.
1-10-DET 20 (Q3, 15:00) 9-M.Stafford pass short middle intended for 15-G.Tate INTERCEPTED by 51-K.Wilber (92-J.Mincey) at DET 24. 51-K.Wilber to DET 19 for 5 yards (15-G.Tate).
On this play, Golden Tate has thoroughly beaten his man on a crossing route and this play could have pick up big yardage. However, Riley Rieff gets pushed back into Stafford’s throwing lane by Jeremy Mincey, who tips the pass straight up into the air. Wilber is underneath it and makes the catch for the turnover. While it is partly on Stafford to avoid having his passes blocked by defensive linemen, the pass protection also needs to do its job and keep throwing lanes clear, so I only give Stafford partial fault on this play.
