Matthew Stafford dealing with a throwing hand injury

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the Detroit Lions on Sunday, and they may be facing a backup quarterback then—or at least a limited Matthew Stafford. Michael Rothstein of ESPN reports that Stafford’s throwing hand is heavily taped up, and appears to be swollen, after he bruised it in Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

If that’s the case, the Bucs would be facing a backup quarterback for the second straight game. Of course, facing a backup is no guarantee for a win: the Bucs lost to Brett Hundley on Sunday, and got embarrassed by Case Keenum earlier in the season. In fact, the Bucs have been duped and beaten by backup quarterbacks repeatedly in the past seasons.

Still, beating the Lions without or with a limited Stafford should be easier than beating them with a fully healthy starting quarterback. And the Bucs could use a win, if they want their coaching staff to stick around, anyway. With four games left and all of them against winning teams, their future has to be in doubt.