DETROIT -- Matthew Stafford saw the rusher coming and with a quick move, he made New York Giants defensive tackle Damontre Moore miss him entirely.

Then he looked up the field, saw Calvin Johnson and 67 yards later, the Lions had their first touchdown of the season. And Stafford, whose play was one of the biggest questions entering 2014 for Detroit, started to answer exactly how comfortable he felt in the Lions offense.

One game in -- the answer is pretty darned comfortable with it.

Stafford completed 22 of 32 passes for 346 yards with two touchdowns throwing, one touchdown rushing and perhaps more important than anything else, no interceptions.

"I'm just trying to be as smart as I possibly can," Stafford said. "Our defense was playing outstanding tonight. They were getting us the ball back and stopping New York. I knew if we just played smart, still aggressive without question by making some big plays by throwing the ball down the field, but with how our defense was playing, that was going to be a recipe for success."

Playing smart has always been a question with Stafford, who looked brilliant at times and erratic at others during 2013. There was none of that against the Giants during Detroit's 35-14 win on "Monday Night Football." Actually, it might have been the best game of Stafford's career, now in its sixth season.

His QBR was 97.5, the highest rating of his career and the highest rating of any quarterback in the first week of the season. Undeniably, Stafford appeared more comfortable in the offense. He was making the right reads. He was checking down to running back Reggie Bush when he needed to. He wasn't forcing passes, an issue in 2013.

"He really took control of where we were going with protections and in the run game," center Dominic Raiola said. "He did a nice job of just taking control and just being that general on the field that we want him to be. He did a great job."

He did the type of job expected of a former No. 1 pick and a quarterback paid to be the man running the franchise on the field. He played confident. He played steady. He played like the Lions are going to need him to all season long.