Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said Monday he wanted to be out there Sunday but ultimately did what he felt was best for the team in sitting against the Chicago Bears, snapping his 136-game start streak.

"Ultimately, I think I made the right decision," Stafford said.

He's once again dealing with a back injury, although he stressed it is a different injury than last season, one he played through. Lions coach Matt Patricia classified him as day-to-day, week-to-week earlier Monday.

Stafford did say, though, he has no interest in shutting it down for the season.

"That's not my thinking at the moment," Stafford said. "My thinking is to try and be out there as soon as I possibly can to help us win."

Stafford said a bunch of people had input into whether or not he would start -- or play -- in the Lions' 20-13 loss to the Bears. At one point he considered dressing to try and be available if the team needed him to hand off at the end or hold for an extra point, anything he could do to help.

The NFL is looking into how the Lions handled the reporting of Stafford's back injury in the week leading up to Sunday's game, including the designation of Stafford as questionable before he was ruled out, a source said.

The 31-year-old quarterback said he knew Saturday he wouldn't start the game but thought he could still dress.

"Obviously I want to be out there with the guys," Stafford said. "I think it was the right decision, a collective decision. But it's tough. I love playing this game.

"Work really hard to try and be out there for my teammates but I wasn't able to do it so a tough pill to swallow. I thought Jeff did a great job, played great and I think the guys rallied around him, which is good."

Stafford has thrown for 2,499 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. In Week 7, he became the fastest quarterback in league history to pass for 40,000 yards.