Super Bowl 2022: Matthew Stafford, wife Kelly have embraced magical moment

LOS ANGELES — When it was over, when Matthew Stafford was assured of playing in the Super Bowl for the first time in his 13-year career, Kelly Stafford raced onto the field to find her husband. They looked at one another and embraced for several seconds in celebration, holding on to one another tightly in an emotion-filled moment.

This wasn’t simply the culmination of a dream for the Rams’ quarterback, who had left Detroit after a dozen mostly frustrating seasons.

This was a celebration of life.

For both of them.

While Stafford fought through difficult times with the Lions, his wife faced far more serious problems when she was diagnosed in 2019 with acoustic neuroma.

Kelly had experienced frightening symptoms that included extreme dizziness, vertigo and a loss of balance. There were hearing issues as well. This occurred just months after she delivered their third child.

"The room just kind of started spinning on me," she told NBC affiliate WDIV-TV in an interview about her health scare. "I was holding our newborn at that point, and I kind of just like almost threw her to Matthew because I felt myself going down."

Doctors told the couple that Kelly would require surgery to remove the slow-growing, noncancerous tumor on the cranial nerve connecting the ear to the brain.

The procedure typically requires six hours to complete, and there was a 50% chance she would lose her hearing.

The operation, which took place on April 17, 2019, lasted twice that long after Kelly’s condition was complicated by an abnormal vein that doctors discovered during the surgery.

"I’m relearning how to move again," she said soon after the surgery. "I push myself. It’s really because I have such a great support [system] when I come home."

The good news: The surgery was a success, and she eventually returned to normal. And just 14 months later, the couple welcomed their fourth child.

Matthew was there every step of the way.

"He never left my side," she said. "I mean, when I say I couldn’t do anything, he had to be by my side at every moment."

Now you have some idea of just what that postgame hug meant to both of them.

"We’ve been through a lot, and it’s a moment I’ll never forget," Kelly said on her podcast. "I’m just so . . . happy for him. He’s put so much work into this, not only this year but his entire life. So that is one moment I will never forget."

Nor will her husband.

"I couldn’t have done it without her," said Stafford, who hadn’t won a single playoff game before winning three with the Rams this postseason. "She’s an unbelievable part of my life. I’m just so lucky to be with her and have the children that I have, the family that I have. It’s the best part of my life. This [football career] is great, but that’s so much better."

He will always remember that touching postgame embrace.

"To share that moment with her was so cool," he said. "She’s been through a lot of that with me, and we’ve leaned on each other at separate times to help ourselves get through whatever we’re having to get through. She’s special to me, and I’m just so happy that I got to spend that time with her."

Now there is the chance for one more hug, an embrace that would represent the culmination of the 34-year-old quarterback’s football dreams. Stafford and the Rams will face the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, the place where Stafford’s journey took him after he requested and was granted a trade from the Lions.

It is a journey that the quarterback often struggled through — both personally and professionally — but one that he wouldn’t trade for anything. Even with all the hard times.

"If we sit here and say we’re not a product of our experiences, or we haven’t learned from some of the things that we’ve had go on in the past, picked up things from great teammates or coaches along the way, we’d be lying to ourselves," Stafford said.

The quarterback wasn’t quite sure how his time in Detroit would be remembered by those he left behind after going to the Rams. After all, he was the one who had asked out, and there was no telling whether fans might be embittered by that request. But Stafford remains deeply popular among the Lions’ faithful, most of whom understand his frustration and don’t begrudge his desire to see if he could find a better situation.

And even if those fans had turned on him, Stafford still has a lot of Detroit in his heart.

"I think we all are playing for not only the guys in this locker room but those who helped us get to this position," he said.

"There’s so many people in Detroit, important people in my life, that have helped me get here. The Ford family [which owns the Lions] was unbelievable in giving me the opportunity to even come into this league and play this game that I love. They supported me and pushed me for years there.

"I’m still in contact with them and appreciate them so much, as I do with so many teammates that I played with, both guys that are still playing and guys that have retired."

It didn’t take long for Stafford to find his next home once he made the decision to request a trade in January 2021.

It was not an easy situation for incoming coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes, who recently had been hired after coach Matt Patricia and GM Bob Quinn were ousted. Having your franchise quarterback ask out before the new regime had presided over a single game certainly was a challenge.

Close to a dozen teams asked about Stafford, but it was the Rams who offered the most enticing package: two first-round picks, a third-rounder and starting quarterback Jared Goff. Holmes, who had worked for the Rams before joining Detroit, made the deal.

"He asked for a trade, and I think it worked out for both sides," Holmes said last week. "Stafford’s a good player and the Rams are a good team. So it worked out for them, and in exchange, we got compensation that can help us along the way."

Holmes understood why the Rams made the deal, even though Goff had helped Los Angeles get to a Super Bowl three years ago.

"They’ve had a really intentional [roster] build that they’ve been doing for years," he said. "When you’re building it for that long, and then you add a piece like [Stafford], I’m not surprised by their success."

Things couldn’t have worked out better. Stafford led the Rams to the NFC West title and has been mostly brilliant in playoff victories over the Cardinals, the defending Super Bowl champion Bucs and the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. He has thrown six touchdown passes and one interception.

Only the future will tell if the Lions will benefit from the deal. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, and they have yet to play in a Super Bowl.

For Stafford, the moment is now. He has been through so much on and off the field, and his journey alongside Kelly has been filled with happiness but also has included some harrowing ordeals.

They hope there is another joyful moment to share on Super Bowl Sunday.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”