Matthew Stafford, a signal caller with the Rams, is still one of the NFC’s best quarterbacks.
Regarding Matthew Stafford, there were a lot of inquiries and rumors throughout the previous offseason. His strength in his arms, his health, and his ability to relate to his younger colleagues. Even again, if you ignore all the hype, Stafford’s poor performance in 2022 presents a far greater problem than he had heading into the 2023 campaign.
It doesn’t matter if Allen Robinson and a lackluster set of receivers are to blame, Liam Coen, the offensive line, or injuries, including his own, are to blame for that. Without a doubt, Stafford’s 2022 season was the poorest in his career since joining the Detroit Lions. Stafford had to show he still had it at the age of 35, becoming the oldest starting quarterback in the NFL after Aaron Rodgers was injured four plays into the season.
Stafford had a terrible start to the season, throwing three touchdowns and five interceptions in his first four appearances. However, he improved during the season, demonstrating his talent. Perhaps even more of it is in him.
Stafford finished the previous 11 games with a passer rating of 99.2, 8.1 adjusted Y/A, six interceptions, and 21 touchdowns.
Despite missing Week 18 after Los Angeles secured a postseason spot, Stafford has the sixth-most touchdowns, the seventh-highest passer rating, and the fifth-highest AY/A since Week 5. Josh Allen had scored 20 touchdowns in 13 games since Week 5, but his 21 touchdowns in his 11 games surpassed that total. Additionally, it was more than Trevor Lawrence, Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa, and Lamar Jackson in less games.
Stafford could have played Week 18 and maybe scored enough touchdowns to be as effective as nearly any quarterback in the league if he was the real “Stat Padford” as the Lions squad nicknamed him many years ago for not doing enough to help him most of the time.
It got me thinking: Compared to Matthew Stafford, how many other quarterbacks in the NFL today would I really choose for a game or a season?
At the conclusion of the season, the list is substantially smaller than it was at the start.
What quarterbacks rank higher than Stafford, and is he among the top five?
First of all, it will be difficult to explain that something is “definitely better,” but let’s start with the name that will get the fewest arguments, placing Patrick Mahomes at the top.
In all honesty, it’s not that difficult to envision Stafford in the top-5 as soon as the arguments become hazy.
Despite having the second-highest number of interceptions (18) and a lower touchdown total (29) than one might anticipate, Josh Allen is still in my top three. Not that I have many concerns—Allen is a top-3 quarterback who deserves to be there.
Lamar Jackson would lose over Stafford in my opinion. With 36 touchdowns, Dak Prescott leads the NFL, but I would rather have him. He’s better than Brock Purdy in my book. Though it’s not about who you would start a club with, I would still select him over C.J. Stroud because who is the better quarterback right now? Although Justin Herbert is fantastic, he hasn’t shown himself in pivotal moments and, in my opinion, is currently receiving a little bit of a “pass” due to some poor or disappointing performances from his colleagues. With that being said, it is possible for Herbert to experience disappointment from his teammates while also needing to demonstrate personal growth.
The only other name with a solid case in the top three is Joe Burrow, whose injuries make 2023 a challenging season to evaluate. How can Burrow escape criticism for durability issues if Stafford does? He has now experienced two season-ending injuries in four seasons—an ACL tear and a calf ailment.
Stafford can yet sneak in at number four if Mahomes, Allen, and Burrow are ranked in the top three.
Which QBs did I hardly think about?
Rodgers was out for the entire season, so at this point I don’t think he poses much of a threat.
Some excellent quarterbacks are Jalen Hurts, Trevor Lawrence, Jordan Love, and Tua Tagovailoa. They still haven’t accomplished enough to justify climbing over Stafford.
Not as talented as Stafford and not playing any better than he did in 2023, quarterbacks like Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, Geno Smith, and Kyler Murray are passable options.
If I haven’t written about you at all, it’s because I don’t feel compelled to. There is no dispute from that player.
Who are the top five players?
In no particular order, my top five would be: Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Stafford, and Lamar.
This season, none of the young quarterbacks you may have predicted to remain ahead of or exceed Matthew Stafford did. Despite Cooper Kupp’s injury that kept him out of the first four games of the season, Stafford had one of his best seasons ever, leading an untested supporting cast to rank sixth in points per drive and setting records for Puka Nacua.