The Los Angeles Rams secured the No. 6 seed in the NFC and will head on the road to play the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football of Wild Card Weekend.
The Lions are hosting their first home playoff game in three decades, meaning that the Rams are expecting a raucous crowd that will look to overtake them in the game.
There are storylines galore in the Los Angeles-Detroit matchup, though the most compelling one is Matthew Stafford’s return to the city.
Stafford spent his first 12 seasons with the Lions, making the postseason three times but going winless.
The quarterback would later go on to win the Super Bowl in his first season with Los Angeles and he got support from Detroit’s fanbase.
Ahead of Stafford’s reunion with the Lions, Puka Nacua revealed that he’s had a different expression than normal during practices via Bridget Condon of NFL Network.
“[Stafford] has a little bit of a smirk. It’s not just his quiet kind of restful face of locked in and focused. You see a little smirk here and there more than it normally is,” Nacua said.
Matthew Stafford was very reserved, as he typically is, talking about returning to Detroit this weekend.
Puka Nacua told me Stafford “has a little bit of a smirk. It’s not just his quiet kind of restful face of locked in and focused. You see a little smirk here and there more… pic.twitter.com/3YvtHQlkxT
— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 11, 2024
It sounds like Stafford’s relishing the opportunity to go back to where his NFL career started and try to deny them a postseason win.
While it’ll likely be an emotional day for Stafford and his family, he and the Rams will have to be at the top of their game if they hope to pull off an upset.
However, Stafford’s proven that he can rise to the occasion in big games and it’ll be exciting to see if he overcomes his former team.
The post Puka Nacua Notes 1 Matthew Stafford Difference Before Lions Matchup appeared first on The Cold Wire.