The 38-37 loss on Thursday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks hit the Los Angeles Rams hard. However, fans can take some consolation: quarterback Matthew Stafford is playing so well that he has sparked serious comparisons to Tom Brady.
The visit to Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, taught the Rams valuable lessons. One is to tighten up the defense in the final minutes. The other? Matthew Stafford is MVP material.
For most of his career, the 17-year veteran has been the black sheep of elite quarterbacks. Despite being a Super Bowl LVI champion, he has only two Pro Bowl selections and has never been named an All-Pro.
At 37, many would think Stafford is nearing the end of his career. However, his performance on Thursday made it clear that he’s closer to Brady’s level than to retirement.
Is Matthew Stafford at Tom Brady’s level?
This Thursday, Stafford, 37, completed 29 of 49 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. At that same age, Brady made a masterful comeback that led him to win his fourth Super Bowl.
The comparisons aren’t unfounded. Beyond the recent game, Stafford leads the league with 40 touchdown passes, a 113.1 passer rating, an 8.8 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and 50 passes of 20 yards or more.
After the Week 15 game, Stafford has totaled 4,179 yards, 40 touchdowns, and eight interceptions on 341 completions out of 519 attempts.
In comparison, in 2014, at 37 years old, Brady completed 373 passes out of 582 attempts for 4,577 yards, 33 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. That same season, he won his fourth Super Bowl.
Stafford is the MVP favorite
Oddsmakers have taken note of Stafford’s performance. The DraftKings betting platform has the Rams star as the favorite to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season with odds of -300.
Behind him are Drake Maye, at +425, and Josh Allen, at +550. None of the other quarterbacks have odds higher than +7500. This speaks to Stafford’s quality.
With only two games remaining in the regular season, Stafford still has room to solidify his MVP case, though it’s safer to say his sights are set on the playoffs.
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