They were one of the most prolific passing duos in the NFL for four and a half seasons, and as they get ready to square off Sunday for the first time since last year’s unexpected trade, it’s clear Golden Tate and Matthew Stafford still are quite fond of each other.

Tate, in his first season with the New York Giants, said in a TV interview this summer that Stafford was “the best quarterback I’ve played with,” and he doubled down on that comment in an interview with the Free Press earlier this fall.

“Yeah, I caught some flack (for saying that), but (screw) everybody,” Tate said. “(Screw) them. I don’t care. That’s my opinion. I’m allowed to have my opinion.”

Tate, of course, won a Super Bowl playing alongside Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks and spent part of last year catching passes from Carson Wentz after the Lions sent him to the Philadelphia Eagles at the trade deadline.

The Lions’ most productive receiver at the time of the trade — Tate and the Lions were deep into talks about a contract extension last October, but at odds over the structure of the deal — Tate caught 416 passes for 4,741 yards during his time in Detroit.

He said he considers Stafford the best quarterback he’s played with because of his natural ability and statistical dominance.

“Look at his stats and then look at the record of the teams,” Tate said. “Like, you look at the stats that he’s had with him and Calvin (Johnson), even before I came along, or what we’ve achieved. This dude has performed at a playoff-type of level year in and year out, in my mind. I believe in his career he didn’t have enough weapons, or other people were the problem. I don’t want to sell anyone out, but I just think if you throw Stafford into New Orleans right now or Green Bay right now, or back when they had all those incredible players, I think this guy has a couple rings, for one. That’s my opinion.

“That’s nothing against Russell Wilson, cause Russell Wilson’s also a great quarterback and makes plays and he’s good for that organization. But you’re talking about pure passer, I’m taking Stafford all day. There’s not a throw that he cannot make, for one, and the guy just (throws) you open. His ball placement is incredible. There’s been times where I’m like, ‘Ah (shoot), I’m covered,’ and he throws it to me and it’s like low and outside where only I can make that play. That’s pretty incredible as you have 10 other guys chasing you down, trying to knock the (crap) out of you.”

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Stafford, who has completed more passes to Tate than any player in his career besides Johnson, said Tate is the type of reliable veteran who can help bring young Giants quarterback Daniel Jones along.

Jones, the No. 6 pick in April’s draft, will make his sixth career start Sunday at Ford Field, and he’s already found an easy connection with Tate, completing 15 passes to the 31-year-old receiver for 195 yards and a touchdown over the last three weeks.

Tate did not play the first four games of the season due a suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs (Tate said in August he had taken a drug prescribed by a fertility specialist).

“He’s a guy that can turn a short one into a long one really quick, which is nice as a quarterback to be able to once every two or three games throw an 8-yard pass that goes for 40,” Stafford said. “That feels pretty good. It kind of puts a little bit of wind in the sails.”

Tate, who annually ranked among the league leaders in yards after the catch during his time in Detroit, said Stafford is one of the reasons he’s been so good at that category.

“Honestly, part of me being, I guess, quote-unquote the "YAC king " or so good at YAC is on Stafford because he gets the ball to you so quickly that you have time to decipher what the defense is doing or what angle they’re taking and then you can make the play,” Tate said. “As you can look at the stats, I think Stafford and I really enjoyed playing with each other.”

Though Tate’s production dipped immediately after last year’s trade, he did help Philadelphia make the playoffs with 30 catches in eight games and he scored the game-winning touchdown in the Eagles’ wild-card win over the Chicago Bears.

This year, Lions coach Matt Patricia said Tate looks like the same player who was so hard to cover in Detroit, and he’s doing even more in New York now that he’s returning punts.

“There’s some definitely things on tape that you see that are still explosive as far as what they’re doing with him,” Patricia said. “He caught the vertical one against New England, but it’s still a lot of the same. Just really good run after catch, get open, catch the ball, and extremely difficult to tackle. I mean, he’s got to be one of the toughest guys in the NFL to tackle. I mean, his ability to make guys miss and he’s so smooth with the ball that really that’s a major issue.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Read more on the Detroit Lions and sign up for our Lions newsletter.