Lions QB Stafford to miss 5th straight game

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will miss his fifth straight game this Sunday when Detroit (3-8-1) visits the Minnesota Vikings (8-4). The 31-year-old Stafford is still recovering from a back injury sustained during the Lions' Week 9 loss at the Oakland Raiders. However, the Pro Bowler said earlier this week that his back is healing "as it should" and does not foresee any long-term implications from the injury.

"It's something that was kind of a freak deal that happened and obviously got to take it in stride and listen to the doctors, my body, coaches, everybody, kind of figure out what's best," Stafford said Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press. "But I was having a lot of fun playing when I was out there, wish I could be out there right now helping us try to win games. It's just not the case. ... "I want to play for a long time," added the 11-year veteran, who had made 136 consecutive starts before his injury, a streak that dated to the start of the 2011 season.

Stafford has passed for 2,499 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions this season as the team went 3-4-1 when he was on the field. The former No. 1 overall selection in the 2009 NFL Draft has career totals of 41,025 passing yards over 11 seasons with 256 TDs and 134 interceptions. Also ruled out for Sunday is defensive end Da'Shawn Hand, marking his 10th missed game. Hand re-aggravated an ankle injury during Wednesday's practice and did not practice the last two days.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)