The second reunion between Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field had a similar sound to the first.

Stafford, who quarterbacked the Lions from 2009 to 2020, returned to the stadium as a member of the visiting Los Angeles Rams for the 2024 season opener. He was again greeted with a chorus of boos from Lions fans during pregame warmups when he took the field.

Meanwhile, the quarterback he was traded for, Jared Goff, was received warmly, with his name chanted and loud cheers.

This was reminiscent of the meeting between these two teams, at the same location, in January during the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. In that game, the Lions narrowly defeated the Rams by one point, 24-23.

On Sunday, the Lions reopened the regular season by beating their former quarterback 26-20.

When asked if he liked the reception upon his return, which included the “Jared Goff” chants and boos, the veteran passer nodded.

“That’s me, yeah,” Stafford said.

Stafford took it a step further when asked if Detroit wasn’t just a place to play at this point in his career.

“Of course.”

The Lions and Stafford have gone on different journeys since parting ways before the 2021 season. Stafford won the Super Bowl in his first season with his new team, while the Lions and Goff went 3-13-1.

Detroit, however, quickly rebounded into a team seen as a Super Bowl contender led by Dan Campbell and Goff’s resurgent play. On Sunday, the Lions sputtered for much of the second half but eventually pulled themselves together to a victory after Goff led a late tying drive to send the game to overtime.

Stafford had a solid day Sunday, outpacing Goff statistically. His connection with Cooper Kupp was on full display as the duo threw 14 times for 110 yards and a score.

In total, the veteran passer threw for 317 yards, one touchdown and one interception. With an offensive line plagued by injuries and star wideout Puka Nacua out of the game with an injury, Stafford adapted his scheme and thrived in the up-tempo game throughout Sunday’s contest.

His interception came at an inopportune time, as it occurred in the end zone when Kerby Joseph intercepted a pass for Cooper Kupp.

However, that effort was not enough to escape his old hometown with a victory.

“Look, I thought (Rams coach) Sean (McVay) had a great game plan last year, and he had another one this week,” Campbell said. “Now, we gave him some things that he had to get used to. And they did, but they adjusted quickly to that point, and Stafford knew exactly what to do. He knew where his outlets were, and yeah, he was going to throw that ball. They were going to pace us a little bit, and do some things, and try to put some pressure on us. But I thought he played a great game, I really did, man, and you know they did. They got a hit there and they just kept coming.”

Stafford was complimentary about the crowd at Ford Field on Sunday. The atmosphere in the building lived up to its reputation as one of the best in the NFL, leading to multiple false starts and making things tough for the visiting team.

“It was good. I thought it was a fun place to play,” Stafford said. “The crowd was really into it. It’s obviously a great football game, which helps, it helps the crowd get involved.”