Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is expected to play in Week 16 against the Minnesota Vikings despite a back injury, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Lions’ QB Matthew Stafford, listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs the Vikings due to a back injury, is expected to play, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 23, 2018
Stafford, who was listed as questionable on the official injury report, has been dealing with a back injury for the past few weeks.
He was significantly limited in the Lions’ win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14 as he threw for just 101 yards with no touchdowns. He played a bit better last week against the Buffalo Bills, completing 22 of 29 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown. However, it wasn’t enough to avoid a 14-13 defeat, which dropped the Lions to 5-9 on the season.
Despite Detroit being out of the playoff race for some time, Stafford has opted to gut out discomfort and continue to play with his back injury. That’s in large part due to his desire to keep his consecutive starts streak alive.
That streak currently stands at 126 straight regular season starts, which is the sixth-longest streak in NFL history and third-longest active streak behind the Chargers’ Philip Rivers (206) and the Falcons’ Matt Ryan (145).
Unless Stafford’s back injury gets significantly worse, Stafford will likely play both against the Vikings and the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 to keep his amazing streak alive heading into next season.
Stafford and the Lions will look to play spoiler against the Vikings, who are still battling for the final wild-card spot in the NFC.
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