Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford left Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the waning seconds of the contest. He threw to Brandon Pettigrew on fourth down and was hit by Curtis Lofton on the play, limping toward the sideline shortly thereafter.

After the game, neither Stafford nor coach Jim Schwartz commented on the particular nature of the leg injury (via mlive.com):

"We're going to check him out," Schwartz said. "(We'll) look at his knee and his ankle. We'll see where he is this week."

Stafford, however, planned to attempt a return to the field had the Lions controlled the ball one more time. That might have sent deep chills down Lions fans' backs given the quarterback's long history of injuries. Stafford played just three games last year and 10 as a rookie in 2009.

The Lions visit the Denver Broncos on Oct. 29 and Stafford surely wants to play in that game.

For more on the Lions, check out Pride of Detroit, and get all your Falcons news and talk at The Falcoholic. For more NFL news and notes, visit SB Nation NFL.