Over the last couple of weeks, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has come under fire for the team's lack of consistent success on the field, as they currently sit in last place in the NFC North standings with a 3-6 mark heading into Week 11 action. This led to head coach Matt Patricia coming to his quarterback's defense while praising his work ethic and commitment to the team.

From Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk):

“Matt Stafford, we’re blessed to have him as our quarterback. We’re lucky to have him as our quarterback. This is a guy who is extremely tough. He’s extremely competitive. He’s a guy that works harder than anybody in the building every single day to get better. I think for him as a quarterback his due diligence, the work that he does every single week. . . . Look, that’s not an easy position to play in the NFL. But his toughness that he portrays through all those situations, and his ability to come back and go right back at it with that tenacious attitude every single day. He’s a great quarterback. He works extremely hard and he’s our leader on offense and we’re going to keep pushing and he’s going to keep leading, which is great for us.”

The Lions have struggled to put forth a consistent effort offensively, as the team has dropped their last three straight games to effectively fall out of the crowded NFC playoff picture. Despite the losses piling up, Stafford continues to produce at a high level with 2,385 passing yards on 66.8 percent completion rate with 16 touchdowns and a 93.8 passer rating.

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However, the Lions offense has failed to string together consistent drives over their three-game losing streak, putting them in a deep hole heading into the last seven contests of the season. Stafford has taken on a brunt of that blame as he has struggled to lead the team to any type of sustainable success throughout his career with just three playoff appearances in his first nine years in the league.

At some point, these questions will continue to grow louder with Patricia being the one having to answer the call as the head coach. Until then, there is clearly strong support and faith from the franchise that Stafford is Detroit's long-term answer under center.