Matthew Stafford’s 25 Total TDs in 2014
3-9-DET 33 (Q1, 12:25) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep right to 81-C.Johnson for 67 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Initially on this play, Calvin Johnson is running a deep out route. Actually, on this play, both Johnson and Tate (the vertical at the top of the screen) do a good job of popping open on their initial routes, as they beat both of the corners that were covering them. I believe Tate is Stafford’s first read, but I also think Stafford chooses not to throw that route because of the deep safety. Then, he sees trouble, as his right tackle has been beaten. He rolls out to that side, and Megatron does a good job of improvising and running downfield. Two Giants collide, and after avoiding a sack, all Stafford has to do is launch the ball in Calvin’s direction and he has no one around him for the long TD.
3-13-NYG 16 (Q1, 5:19) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle to 81-C.Johnson for 16 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This time the Giants run a zone blitz and get pressure on Stafford again, forcing him out of the pocket. Johnson appears to initially be running a post route from the slot, but the Giants have high low coverage on him. That coverage doesn’t matter, however, because Johnson and Stafford have great chemistry, and Stafford trusts his receiver to make the great catch in this play that ends up a TD. He threw the ball in a spot where only Calvin could get it.
2-1-CAR 1 (Q3, 9:34) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 45-J.Collins for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.
I don’t have much to say about this other than that Collins makes a nice second effort to force his way into the endzone after the initial hit. This is a pretty standard goal line TD.
3-10-DET 41 (Q2, 6:29) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep right to 12-J.Ross for 59 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Jets are running Quarters coverage, which is, you know, supposed to prevent deep passes by putting four defenders in deep zones. The only problem is none of the deep defenders do their job. Both Lions receivers outrun the coverage. Stafford chooses Ross, who dodges a diving tackler and takes the ball into the endzone.
2-10-NYJ 16 (Q2, :27) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle to 85-E.Ebron for 16 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Jets appear to be running a matchup zone, but the only problem is they tried match Eric Ebron with a LB. Ebron is really athletic, and he wins that battle. Stafford does a great job recognizing the mismatch and then fires an on-target pass to Ebron for the TD.
3-8-BUF 9 (Q1, :09) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short left to 15-G.Tate for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Stafford does his job and puts the ball on target, but this play was made by Tate’s route running. He takes a convincing jab step to the outside, gets the corner to bite, and then he pops open for the TD. Stafford did have to get the ball over the heads of two LBs, but the throw was made a lot easier by the fact that the CB wasn’t a factor.
2-9-MIN 9 (Q1, 11:11) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 25-T.Riddick for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Theo Riddick jukes Gerald Hodges out of his shoes on this play, and he gets open pretty easily on the HB angle route. I’m not a huge fan of Stafford’s throw, because it was behind Riddick and actually made him spin and almost get tackled, but it got the job done.
3-14-DET 27 (Q4, 3:52) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 15-G.Tate for 73 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Obviously, Golden Tate’s after-the-catch ability is what turns this play into a TD. But Stafford’s efforts (particularly his ball placement) on this play are what get the first down and set Tate up to do his thing. Tate’s running an out route that’s well short of the sticks, and it’s third down at a time where the Lions absolutely need to score. Normally, you throw out routes toward the sideline, because theoretically the WR is getting to the boundary before the CB. However, on this play, Stafford and Tate coordinate and Stafford throws the pass high and towards the inside. The CB, who expects the pass to go towards the sideline, ends up drifting in the wrong direction, and Tate gets up the field inside of him and works his magic for the long TD.
3-5-NO 5 (Q4, 1:54) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short middle to 10-C.Fuller for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This play gave the Lions the victory against the Saints after the last play closed the gap. Notice how two Saints cover the slot receiver (Tate, who just burned them). One of those guys messed up because he had deep zone responsibility. When Fuller cuts inside and the corner doesn’t follow, he should have been picked up by one of those two guys. Because of the miscommunication, Fuller is wide open in the end zone and this becomes an easy TD for Stafford’s rocket arm.
3-25-DET 41 (Q3, 4:48) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep right to 15-G.Tate for 59 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
When Stafford escapes pressure, he likes to look deep. On this play, the safeties are in Cover 2, but the one responsible for Tate gets lazy. Tate runs by him, and Stafford bombs a TD to Tate to kick off another comeback for the Lions.
2-5-ATL 5 (Q4, 4:01) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 25-T.Riddick for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Lions fake a Jet Sweep with Tate, and they get all three LBs to bite. Riddick released on a pass route in the opposite direction and there’s no one in position to make the tackle because the defense was faked out.
