Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK >> Matthew Stafford was injury plagued in his first two seasons with the Lions. As a rookie in 2009 he played in 10 games and the next season was only healthy enough to start three.

It was so bad fans were turning on him (imagine that) and his teammate linebacker Zack Follett called him a “china doll.”

Once he regained his health in 2011, Stafford has 107 consecutive regular season starts.

With Eli Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive regular season starts coming to an end due to coach Ben McAdoo’s bonehead decision to start Geno Smith, that moves Stafford up to No. 3 on the NFL’s active consecutive starts by a quarterback list behind the Chargers’ Philip Rivers (148) and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan (126).

“It’s difficult. I think you look across this league, there’s guys at every position showing up on Sunday and playing and doing a great job that I feel like the normal human being wouldn’t be out there doing that,’’ Stafford said on Wednesday. “These guys are impressive people. I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’ll try to play as many games in a row as I possibly can and play at a high level. I think that’s the biggest thing.”

Stafford said his streak means a lot to him.

“I think just coming from my first couple of years in the League and some of the tough times that came with that as far as injuries go and missing games and not being able to be out there with the guys,’’ Stafford said. “So, it’s nice to be able to be out there and have a bunch of games under my belt.”

Stafford’s teammates appreciate his durability.

“We all know what Eli bought to that team and what he brings to the team. Obviously we have an ironman quarterback ourselves and that’s a good thing to have. To know that when it  comes down to it, your guy is going to be out there for you,’’ wide receiver Marvin Jones said.

It extends beyond game day with Stafford to everyday practice. He is always there.

“All of us tip our hats off to him, it’s a lot of meetings and a lot of extra stuff that goes with being in that position. To be able to do that for a long period of time it’s to be applauded,” wide receiver Marvin Jones said.

Stafford gets credit from around the NFL, including Baltimore coach John Harbaugh whose Ravens (6-5) play the Lions (6-5) on Sunday.

“I just think it’s one of the great accomplishments because you’re the target. You’re the quarterback, you’re the target, and this is a rough game. And that guy is a guy that really runs everything. Especially there, I mean Matthew does just an amazing job of running the offense on the field,” Harbaugh said in a conference call on Wednesday. “He operates. Coach (Jim) Caldwell and Coach (Jim Bob) Cooter they have a really good system, and he’s the guy that runs it on the field. So, it’s a really important for him to be out there, and he’s just done a fabulous job of consistency and how well he plays from week to week, and being out there, and overcoming the bumps and bruises that are usually even more than that. He seems like he’s a very tough guy. It’s just been very impressive to see.”

Brett Favre is atop the all-time consecutive starts for a quarterback chart with 297. Eli Manning is at 210 while his brother Peyton Manning sits at 208.

ALLEN PARK — With starting safety Tavon Wilson placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury, Miles Killebrew is likely to get the start.

Wilson re-injured his shoulder in Thursday’s loss to the Vikings and could not return to the game.

“It’s just like anything else you know. The guys that, regardless of who it is, the guys that you lose, that you don’t want to lose, but you’re always going to have somebody be able to step up and step in and get it done,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said on Monday. “But obviously, he’s been a vital part of what we do and he’s done a great job for us, so we’ll see what happens.”

Wilson originally injured his shoulder during training camp. He aggravated it in Week 2’s win at the Giants. Killebrew started in Week 3 with Wilson out. Killebrew also started Week 4 but Wilson was able to play about half of the defensive snaps.

Killebrew had seen his playing time on defense decrease, but he had 32 defensive snaps in the loss to the Vikings on Thursday.

“Coming along. You know, he’s making steps forward and he’s coming,’’ Caldwell said of Killebrew.

In other roster moves, guard Joe Dahl returned to practice on Monday from injured reserve. He’s eligible to play immediately.

Wide receiver  Bradley Marquez and safety Rolan Milligan were signed to the active roster from the practice squad.

Also, wide receiver Jace Billingsley and safety Stefan McClure were signed  to the practice squad.

Billingsley has bounced between the practice squad and the active roster. He began the season on the practice squad before appearing in two games with the club on the active roster.

McClure comes to the Lions after most recently playing in seven games for the Washington Redskins this season. Prior to Washington, he spent time as a member of the Indianapolis Colts practice squad in 2016, where he originally entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent out of California.

FREENEY’S ROLE NOT YET DEFINED

Defensive end Dwight Freeney, who was acquired last Wednesday off waivers from the Seahawks, is expected to practice this week and play at the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Freeney and Caldwell know each other from their time together with the Indianapolis Colts.

“Guy that’s been around, he’s still got juice. You take a look, he’s been productive anytime that he’s been on the field, and we’ll expect him to be productive for us as well. How we’ll use him? We’ll make a real good determination of that as we go through the week, but he’ll be able to do something for us,’’ Caldwell said on Monday.

Freeney notched three sacks in four games for the Seahawks this season.

DETROIT — Of course Jim Caldwell wasn’t happy with the Lions’ 30-23 Thanksgiving loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but he doesn’t think it sunk their playoff chances.

With the loss, the Lions dropped to 6-5, while the Vikings are now 9-2 and clearly in control of the NFC North. The Lions might have to win out and get some help just to have a chance at the final wild-card spot.

“There’s a lot of football left. There’s a guy that I know who is in this league for a long time, he said if you’re around .500 little bit before when you’re sitting down for your Thanksgiving meal, you’ve still got a chance. I’ve experienced it,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said. “… We’re not — don’t count us out just yet. We’ve got a lot of football yet to play and you don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s other games that are being played too. That’s a big thing – I know the media will paint it like the sky is falling, but the sky is not falling for us. We’ve got to get ourselves a little bit better and keep moving forward.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

The Lions have the next two games on the road — at Baltimore on Dec. 3 and then at Tampa Bay on Dec, 10.

Five reasons the Lions lost:

1. For the third straight game they were in a double-digit deficit early. As cold as the Lions were, it didn’t take long for the Vikings to heat up. They took a 13-0 lead with 3:55 left in the first quarter after a one-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Kyle Rudolph followed by Keenum running in from nine yards out for a score. Boom. Watching the first drive, it’s like the Lions’ defense wasn’t on the field. Way too easy.

“We just dug a little too much of a hole, we just didn’t perform well there at the onset. Anytime you do that against a good team it’s going to be tough. We fought back and gave ourselves a chance but some of those holes are a little too big to dig out of, it was tough,’’ Caldwell said. “Our guys fought to the end. We have to do a better job at the beginning in all three phases.’’

He said the only way he knows how to do that is through hard work.

2. Matthew Stafford didn’t have a great day start to finish. He completed just 57.1 percent of his passes, missing long and short on plays he typically makes. “Wish we would’ve won the game, didn’t play well enough to win, left too many points out there, missed a couple throws here and there that probably could have changed the game never fun to let that happen,’’ Stafford said afterward.

He injured his ankle on the play where he hit Marvin Jones in the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. One of the Vikings accidentally rolled into him from behind, buckling Stafford’s legs. The medical staff went out on the field to check him out and he limped off. He didn’t miss a snap and limped into the media room after the game for his press conference. When pressed for how he was feeling, Stafford said, “Not 100 percent, but ticker is still ticking so I’ll be alright.’’

Overall he was 20 of 35 for 25 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a 86.6 rating. The interception came late in the fourth when the Marvin Jones and cornerback Xavier Rhodes both went up for the ball and Rhodes came away with it.

3. Once again the Lions run game was a disappointment with 53 rushing yards total. Abdullah had six carries for 14 yards (2.3 yards per carry). When the Lions beat the Vikings on Oct. 1, Abdullah had his best game of the season with 94 rushing yards. Riddick was the leading rusher with 20 yards (4.0 yards per carry). Golden Tate was third with two carries for 13 yards.

4. And in other news, the Lions defense allowed 136 rushing yards which is actually down from the previous two games when they gave up more than 200 in each game. In the Vikings first drive of the third quarter, they ran four plays (all running) for a total of 75 yards to score a touchdown on first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. That was a killer that put the Vikings up 27-10.

“They just took it right down the field, they had 75 yards rushing in that sequence alone,’’ Caldwell said.  “Up until then I thought our guys had done a decent job of getting stopped in the first half. That one was tough, it didn’t knock us out of it but it made it more difficult.’’

The Vikings rushed for 54 yards in the first half.

5. The Vikings are a better team all-around. Quarterback Case Keenum has grown into his role as starter while the defense has improved as the season has worn on. The Vikings have matured since the Lions beat them 14-7 on Oct. 1. The difference? The Lions have not made vast improvements since then. The team that has grown together is the one that’s 9-2. The team that is somewhat stagnant, is looking for answers with just five games left and a 6-5 record.