Earlier this week, our Jeremy Reisman used the NFL’s NextGenStats site to point out how Matthew Stafford was throwing the ball down the field quite a bit in relation to the rest of the league in Week 1. Using the play by play data and the NextGenStats chart for Stafford’s game against Arizona, we see that the Lions completed nine passes more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. One of these plays was the 23-yard touchdown to rookie 88 TE T.J. Hockenson on a Stafford pocket escape in the back of the end zone, one was a sideline pass to 80 WR Danny Amendola up the left sideline for 15 yards, and one was a 13-yard completion in the first quarter to 19 WR Kenny Golladay to move the sticks on third down.
Film breakdown: A serious running game will help Stafford thrive
