Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made two of his best plays on Thursday with his legs, not his arm. And coach Jim Caldwell noticed.
Stafford ran for first downs on third-and-10 and third-and-15, and Caldwell said after the game that the Lions view Stafford’s running ability as an important part of their offense.
“Matt had a couple of nice runs, he always adds a couple in there for us,” Caldwell said. “I do think he’s a weapon in that regard. Teams that play some man-to-man in those situations and turn their back on the ball, he finds a way to find a hole and skate through it. He makes good decisions in that regard and those runs are very, very important to us. Got a big conversion today that was huge, so that’s kind of all part of the equation.”
Stafford has become more effective as a runner since Jim Bob Cooter took over as offensive coordinator last year. He had a career-high 159 rushing yards last season, and this year he’s set to eclipse that, with 156 rushing yards through 11 games. Stafford is also averaging a career-high 5.8 yards a carry. Running the ball will never be what Stafford does best, but he’s doing it well this year.