Matthew Stafford was getting the daylights beat out of him, clutching his ribs and already hobbled on a bad ankle, when Jake Rudock grabbed a football on the sideline and started to throw.
Rudock may or may not have been close to playing in the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints - he was playing catch with Stafford, who had his helmet on and appeared to be trying to work out some medical-related issues - but for a moment the Lions' backup quarterback felt a twinge of excitement about the possibility of taking his first NFL snap.