Lions' Stafford on no-look throws: 'That's full feel'

Allen Park — Last season, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes broke the internet — as the kids like to say — with an impressive no-look throw. 

Mahomes is a special player, who did some unprecedented things in his first full season as the Chiefs starter, throwing for 50 touchdowns and winning the league MVP. And because the team was winning, the unique plays, from the no-looker or another when he switched hands to make a throw, got much more attention. 

But he's not the only one capable of making the extraordinary look ordinary at the quarterback position. In Detroit, quarterback Matthew Stafford has been utilizing no-look passes more and more this season, including two in the team's most recent game against the Oakland Raiders. 

Not surprisingly, Stafford downplayed the expansion to his repertoire. 

"That’s full feel," Stafford said. "I’m not, like, working on that in the offseason or anything. It’s more just feeling it in the game, trying to see as much as I can possibly see, and then obviously try to get the ball to our guys in space and let them go work."

He was then asked what kind of confidence he needed to make those kinds of throws. 

“Yeah, I think it’s a lot of trust, obviously," Stafford said. "Trust in what I’m seeing, trust in what they’re going to do when I put it out there. Those guys are doing a good job of catching it and coming down with it. They always know to be on their toes and be ready for the ball."

On social media, Stafford's under-the-radar plays spread quickly among the fan base, but rarely garner attention at the national level like Mahomes'. In large part, that's because the Lions aren't winning. At the midpoint of the season, the team holds a 3-4-1 record and is well outside the playoff picture in the NFC.