This was certainly not the start that Matthew Stafford and Detroit Lions were hoping for against the New Orleans Saints.
Stafford was standing in his end zone, looking for the open man. That’s when he was hit by Alex Okafor, who knocked the ball loose. Kenny Vaccaro pounced on it for a New Orleans touchdown.
.@aokafor57 and @kennyvaccaro4 want you to stand up and get crunk.
NO 7, DET 0.#SaintsGameday | #DETvsNO https://t.co/Bk5UNG6n2M
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 15, 2017
When standing in your own end zone, you can’t hold the ball that long. This is especially true in an obvious passing situation (as this was). Stafford was just asking to get sacked, and things only got worse when he couldn’t hang on to the ball.
The touchdown and ensuing PAT put the Saints up 7-0.