Lions' Matthew Stafford day to day

Updated: October 24, 2011, 7:55 PM ET
Associated Press

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Matthew Stafford watch is back on in Detroit.

Stafford is day to day after hurting his right ankle late in the Lions' 23-16 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

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Coach Jim Schwartz said Monday that Stafford wore a protective boot after the game. Schwartz wouldn't go into any details about X-rays or an MRI, but he did hint that any tests that may have been done weren't overly worrisome.

"If they were, he would be more than day to day," Schwartz said. "If he had a broken bone, he would be more than day to day."

Stafford's fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 90 seconds remaining Sunday, and he came hobbling off. He had his ankle taped and said later he would have tried to go back in, but Detroit never got the ball back.

Stafford wasn't in the locker room Monday when it was open to reporters.

Schwartz had said after the game the team would look at Stafford's ankle and knee. He said Monday the ankle was the main issue.

"We will see where he is on Wednesday and hopefully we can get him back on the practice field, but he is no more than day to day," Schwartz said.

The Lions play at Denver next weekend.

Stafford, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft, got off to a brilliant start this season but has been dogged by injury problems throughout his short career.

He played in only three games last season because of shoulder problems. He also missed some time as a rookie with an injured right knee.

Stafford was instrumental in helping the Lions start 5-0 this season, but he's looked shakier the past couple games. He was 15 of 32 for 183 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, and Detroit lost for the second straight week after that perfect start.

On some plays Sunday, Stafford didn't have enough time to make a good throw. On others, he looked as if he was perhaps preoccupied with the pass rush.

"It all works together," Schwartz said. "Offensive line protecting, quarterback making good decisions and good throws, and receivers finishing the plays with catches. We didn't execute any of those phases. Well, we were inconsistent in all three of those phases, and I think that it wasn't just one group."


Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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