With the Detroit Lions out of the playoff race, there aren’t a lot of tangible things left to play for. There is pride or a potential new contract for pending free agents, but everything else is just symbolic. That doesn’t make the motivation any less real, but everyone in that locker room knows the stakes for Sunday’s contest against the Minnesota Vikings are lower than they want it to be.
But for one quarterback fighting through a lingering back injury, another thing is at stake. Matthew Stafford has started 126 straight games—the sixth longest streak in NFL quarterback history.