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Lions quarterback celebrates with an emotional spike after beating the Cowboys with a last-second dive into the end zone -- a play on which he faked like he was going to spike it to stop the clock.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Matthew Stafford is having a pretty good week.



He's led the Detroit Lions to back-to-back fourth-quarter comebacks. He now ranks among the top-five quarterbacks in the league in rating and accuracy. One notable analyst, Peter Schrager, is saying he is the NFL's very best right now.



And on Sunday, he will play the 100th game of his career when the Lions host Washington at Ford Field.



"It's cool," Stafford said. "It's obviously a privilege to play in this league, especially for that long. As far as how long it feels, certain days it feels like a blink of the eye. Other days, physically, it feels like eight years. But I feel good, it's awesome to be able to play in 100. Hopefully another 100 are out there somewhere."



Stafford has had his issues in Detroit, to be sure. But he's also done things that nobody in this city -- or this league -- has seen before. At 28 years old, he already holds every notable franchise passing record.



He was the quickest quarterback to 20,000 yards in league history. He passed for the most yards in a player's first 100 games, and completed the most passes. He's also led 23 fourth-quarter comebacks, including 21 since 2014, a league high.



There have been plenty of big moments during Stafford's first 99 games in Detroit. Here, players and coaches share their favorites:



Cornerback Darius Slay: "My favorite story was when we were playing Cincinnati my rookie year (in 2013). He threw this thing up to Calvin, and I'm like, 'Whaaaat are you thinking Stafford? What the hell are you thinking? No way! ... Oh. I forgot who you were throwing it to.' He was throwing it to Calvin Johnson. One of the best plays I've ever seen in my life, man. My best moment of him, though, was when we were playing Dallas, and he threw it to the left to Kris Durham. I said, 'God he threw that thing hard.' Got it to the goal line, and everybody thought (Stafford) was tackled on that sneak, but he really made it and spiked it and gave the crowd the "UGH!" face. I like it when my Stafford gets to do that "UGH!" face, because I feel like the crowd feels that. I feel that."



Right guard Larry Warford: "You probably already have this one, but it was the craziest thing I've ever seen. It was my rookie year (in 2013) and we were playing the Bengals. It was the fourth quarter and it was third-and-18, and I was like, 'OK, it's going to be hard to convert this, but we'll see.' My guy kind of gets over the top of me, and Matt's scrambling right, and I see him pull up and just chuck it down the field. And I'm not paying attention to who he's throwing at, but I'm just looking at the ball, and like, 'Oh my god. This guy has a cannon on him!' I didn't even care what happened on the play. That was probably the furthest I've ever seen a ball thrown. And sure as hell, Calvin Johnson, with six arms all around him, I just see his arms stick out, and in triple-coverage, he just sticks it. So now I'm just looking at Calvin, then I'm looking at Matt, and I'm just like, 'This is just like magic or something. What kind of magic is this (stuff)?' I was just in awe, man. I was just in awe. I was just hoping we'd convert the third down, and he just bombs a touchdown out of nowhere. I was like, 'Oh ... my ... god. What is this nonsense?'"



Offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas: "Favorite memory of Stafford would probably be last year's Chicago game. I came in when (Michael) Ola went down. It was a pass play, and I'm blocking my guy, and at the very last second, my guy kind of fell off into the back of Stafford, and Stafford basically fell into my arms. Here I am, just holding him like a baby. And he just looked up, and he was smiling at me. I was like, 'Damn, my bad.' And he's just like, 'That's football baby! Let's just keep going.'"



Safety/gunner Don Carey: "My favorite play was when we played the Cowboys here in 2013 -- that last play, when he dove over, didn't quite get it -- but then ran around everyone, and then spiked that ball. That just goes to show you his heart, his desire, his passion for the game. If you want to talk about some of the amazing passes he's had, there are myriad to pick out. If I had to pick just one pass that I thought was just ridiculous, was 2014 against the Giants. Running out to the left, Calvin Johnson back of the end zone, tells him to go right, throws across the body for a strike and a touchdown. That's one of my favorite passes of his. But I (chose the Cowboys game because) I just love it when he shows emotion. Everybody wants a cool, calm, collected quarterback -- and of course you do -- but I want somebody who can get excited in the game too."



Receiver Golden Tate: "We have a lot of memories off the field, hanging out at dinner or whatever. But one thing that pops up to me is when he's excited, and we're winning, even in the 2-minute drive when you know we're about to go win the game, he has this confidence where he kind of goes into the baseball talk. What I mean by that is, 'Hey, that a boy, kid!' Or, 'What a catch!' Or stuff like that. Kind of referencing the baseball lingo. I got to say, one of the things is when Stafford's confident, no matter what the score is, you can't help but be confident. His confidence is great, and we know if he thinks we're going to win, then we're going to win."



Fullback Michael Burton: "That was a great play -- that play where he ran over (Titans corner Parrish Cox). Lowering your shoulder, putting your face in there, running the guy over -- just super exciting. And what that does is it sets a tone for the team. It got guys to rally around that, and just excited, to see a big hit like that, which you don't normally see from your quarterback. It definitely ignites the team."





Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter: "Best throw? I'm biased, you know. There's a recency bias -- I think that's something. But that one the other day was pretty good. ... The free play (he threw 61 yards to Tate). You know, I think he, he doesn't get credit for the no-look, but he almost no-looked it, which is pretty impressive because it went way down the field. But he can sling that thing wherever he wants to pretty much."



Safety Glover Quin: "Since I been here, I've seen Stafford make a ton of great plays, a ton of great throws. But I guess I would have to say our favorite scenario is 2014. We're playing the Saints, and I think I went to him on the sideline, said, 'Hey, you know, got to score here. We'll get the ball back for ya, and y'all got to score again.' So they went and scored, and then I had the interception, and then they went and scored again (to win the game). So we kind of joked about it after the game, and he was like, 'You know I was mic'd up right? It's probably going to be cool on the mic'd up.'



Former center and current assistant strength coach Dominic Raiola: "It's gotta be Cleveland, when he played with broken ribs. I just remember he went back out there, and scored the game winner in a lot of pain. And that just epitomizes his toughness to me. Just still being around the organization, there's no doubt the nicks and the bruises he takes, he's going to be out there."



Punter Sam Martin: "2013, Stafford over the top, Dallas Cowboys. It was an awesome play. Athletic play. And it was smart, because he checked into it himself."



Tight end Cole Wick: "All I remember is I watching him (against Cleveland his rookie season), and my girlfriend's dad actually showed me this, because he knows a lot. He's been watching football a long time and knows all about Stafford. He brought up this play, Stafford unloads the ball but takes a hit, and he's on the ground. Shoulder's hurting or whatever. He gets up, goes to the sideline, but Stafford starts yelling at the other guy to get off the field. He goes back on the field, has a bum shoulder, throws the ball right over the top for the winner. It was a crazy thing. He's a tough guy."