Lions' Stafford must keep wearing glove on throwing hand after finger injury

Detroit Lions quarter back Matthew Stafford suffered a first-quarter injury on his throwing hand in the 20-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday and will be forced to wear a glove for the remainder of the season, per ESPN.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford now will have to play rest of season with a glove covering dislocated thumb and torn ligaments, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 11, 2016

It’s the chic thing to do for MVP candidates, apparently — first Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr did it in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers, and now Stafford, whose Lions remain in first place after the victory. Stafford suffered the injury when his hand and that of Bears rookie pass rusher Leonard Floyd “clapped” on an incomplete pass near the end of the first quarter. In fact, Stafford was called for intentional grounding on the play.

Prior to that, Stafford completed his first six passes for 60 yards. After the injury, Stafford completed only 15 of 29 passes for 163 yards with a TD and two interceptions — including one pick in the red zone (his first since the 2014 season) and a pick-six (his first since last season).

 

Matthew Stafford suffered a finger injury and now must keep wearing a glove on his throwing hand this season. (AP)

“I was just trying to figure out what was the best way to manage it,” Stafford said, which included throwing on the sideline during the game with a glove on. Stafford’s accuracy appeared to be impacted throughout the game.

Stafford ran for the winning score with 3:17 left in the game. Oddly, Stafford now has thrown four of his seven interceptions this season against the Bears.

“I let [my teammates] know that it may not be pretty coming in there, but those guys made some great plays for me,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t play as well as I can.”

The Lions continue to defy the odds with how they’re winning games this season, but Stafford at least gets credit for gutting through the pain and leading the winning drive late, which has been the theme for these 2016 Lions.

Matthew Stafford now has 8 game-winning drives in the 4th Q/OT, the most in a single season since the 1970 merger pic.twitter.com/OpRA4iYzD1

— Randall Liu (@RLiuNFL) December 11, 2016

“You know, those two turnovers hurt us, but our defense played great,” Stafford said. “Then we were able to put together a drive late to go win it.”

The Lions finish with a tough trio of games — at New York Giants, at Dallas Cowboys and vs. Green Bay Packers — that could help define their playoff fates. Stafford will have to fight through the pain and learn how to throw with a glove against three teams currently very much in the playoff race, including what is shaping up as an NFC North showdown in Week 17 against the rival Packers.

If the Lions make it through that gantlet, a gloved Stafford might really enhance his MVP chances.