FIRST TAKE | “Rams will win Super Bowl this year” – Stephen A. is endorsing Matthew Stafford for MVP

FIRST TAKE | “Rams will win Super Bowl this year” – Stephen A. is endorsing Matthew Stafford for MVP

more to gain at this point from winning a Super Bowl. Is it Matthew Stafford or Jaylen Herz? Jaylen Hurst. I don’t even think this is close at this point. You’re talking about going back to back like that puts you in rare air anyway. And and not only the situation of being able to go back to back, but in the circumstances in which you will go back to back. I mean, last year you think you had AJ Brown reading a reading a book on the sideline and they catch heat and they they they take it all the way through. They end up winning uh beating Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. really not even a close game and and him getting the MVP and being able to take his team back there after all the scrutiny that he’s faced this season with, you know, AJ Brown and the tweets and people being upset and can he do it, can he not do it? And I and I look back at this and I go, man, all this guy does is win. And so when you think about the situation that his team is in, he has carried this team. He’s done all the things right for this football team. I think you go back to back as Super Bowl champions. You’re you’re in a class all by yourself. And not only doing that, doing it in Philly under one of the most pressure-p packed markets in the world and playing with people who have been upset dang near the whole season. I would say, man, you have outdone yourself, sir. So, I think if you look at in totality, I would say that he has the most to to to gain from this uh from this win. Well, I I’m going to say Matt Stafford because his Hall of Fame case would be made if he finds a way to be able to win a Super Bowl. That gives him two championships since he arrived in LA in 2021. He was able to microwave the first one the first year he got there, but then being able to get back to the championship rounds and find a way to get some more hardware, get another crack at being able to get a chance to win Super Bowl MVP, I think that makes the case for Matt Stafford, being in the Hall of Fame. And to me, that is the pinnacle of pro football. It’s not winning a Super Bowl. It’s having your name enshrined in Canton. And Matt Stafford absolutely has an opportunity to do that with another ring. You look at his passing numbers, he’s top top 10 in the major statistical categories. So, he’ll have those numbers, but it’s just a matter of him being able to add a little more hardware to their to his resume because Matt Stafford right now, he doesn’t have any all pros. You know what I’m saying? He’s only got a couple of Pro Bowls, but if he’s able to get another Super Bowl on his resume, then then all of a sudden now he’s a Hall of Famer. Yeah, that’s that’s an interesting I I wasn’t even thinking Hall of Fame wise for sure. I think that’s a great point. Like I I would not have thought Matt, you know, but but to your point cuz because he has there’s there’s only one starting quarterback that has won multiple Super Bowls that’s not in the Hall of Fame. Yeah. As a starter, right? And that’s Jim Plunkin. That’s it. You win multiple Super Bowls, you get in the Hall of Fame. Uh who has more to gain from winning? Uh Stephen A, what do you think? The Eagles and Jaylen Herds or Matthew Stafford and the Rams? I think it’s Stafford. I think it’s Stafford. I think when you see the the kind of an incredible uh year that he’s having in Los Angeles this year, I think you have to take into account some of the conditions, the numbers are there when you look at what he’s passed for in his career. He’s thrown for, you know, over 60,000 yards and all of this other stuff. his first year in his first 12 years in Detroit. Think about how much this franchise struggled and what the zero postseason success they had. At no time did we look at Matthew Stafen and say it was because of him. We knew that he didn’t have enough around him. We knew he was elite. He was an elite quarterback in the National Football League when the Detroit Lions were not winning games. Now, think about the rarity of that, fellas. And Shay, when you are a team and you have little to no success in a postseason and everyone knows it’s not the quarterback, think about that. That’s rare. That doesn’t happen. But that’s what we knew about in his first 12 years in the league when he threw for over 12 thou 45,000 yards and had about 282 touchdowns to 144 interceptions. He gets traded to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Goff to get a Super Bowl. And what does he do? He helps deliver a Super Bowl. And now here he is three years later or so, 37 years of age, bad back supposedly, and all of this other stuff. Leading candidate for MVP right now. Okay. Y’all know that this man has not thrown an interception since like week like what is it week three? I think that’s what it is. Yeah. O over that span he’s thrown 25 touchdowns and no interceptions. I mean the guy is having a spectacular season. We know what is what game he can bring to the table. But to back that up with a second Super Bowl championship, first of all, it’s not just going to cement him, you know, as a champion and a Hall of Famer. He’s going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen. When he was with the Lions, think about it. To add on, think about it. Yeah. To add on to Stephen A’s point, when he was with the Lions and I was covering the Bears, we used to call him Pad Stafford because that’s what we felt like he was doing with the Lions was just padding his stats. That’s all there was to it. and now he goes to the Rams obviously and those stats actually pay off with W. So let’s ask this question now. Stafford right now is the favorite to win the MVP. Do you think it is Stafford and then a large gap with the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFC or is there someone that’s starting to catch up with him? No, I’m not going to say it’s a large gap because Dak Prescott is playing out of his mind right now. Dak Prescott is number one in QBR and he has the number one offense in the entire NFL. George Pickkins has as many receiving yards as the entire receiving court for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yeah. Like like the Dak Prescott has been unbelievable this season. Probably probably would be better if CD Lamb, his number one wide receiver, could catch the damn ball. So, I mean, yeah, Dak Prescott, what he’s been able to do in terms of shephering this team through adverse circumstances, the best player on the team being traded at the eve of the season, the tragic passing of Marshon Nean to find ways to be able to keep this thing afloat. For the Dallas Cowboys to even be in the conversation for the postseason this year at this point is a testament to the greatness that Dak Prescott has displayed this year. So, even though I would still give the nod to Matt Stafford in terms of who’s having the better season, sure, Dak Prescott is right there. Yeah. When you start talking about large guests, I mean, even Sam Darnold, like you think about the numbers that they put up in Seattle, I mean, these guys are playing good football. Like, don’t just get all B and and and here’s the thing. You’re talking about Shawn McVey and an explosive offense and all the piece and parts like Dak Prescott’s had a bad defense that he’s had to play with, right? So, you flip it around like the Seahawks have given given um Sam Darnold and JSN all these opportunities. They’re taking full advantage. I mean, Sam Darnold might break uh uh Calvin Johnson’s record with with uh JSN. He’s got 1300 yards already. Like they So, saying there’s a large gap, I think, would be. And to your point, Stafford clearly has the nod right now. There’s a lot of really, really good quarterback play in the NFC right now. Don’t get it twisted. These are some good football teams and and and uh Stafford’s at the top, but there’s a lot of good quarterback play going on. It’s just tough with Darnold coming off four picks in a game. It’s just tough when you talk about but typically Stafford typically and I understand that, but typically Stafford throws some arm punts as well, right? Like I think what what we end up doing is saying, okay, well, in this last sample size, but when you look at it, there’s different things that quarterbacks struggle with. And and Stafford, you could also say, has thrown a ton of really short touchdowns, like five yards in in I think he’s thrown 10 or 11 uh passes touchdown passes of five yards or less. Like, so there’s always like an argument to go back and forth, but at the end of the day, he’s playing good enough to be in the MVP, but there’s to say there’s a large gap between these other teams, I think would be disingenuous. Steph, they’re all listen, they’re all in the mix. Dak Prescott definitely is in the mix. Sam Darnold, uh, to a lesser degree at this particular moment in time. I would say Stafford’s one. Dak’s number two right now in the MVP race. I don’t I just don’t think we can dismiss what we’re seeing from Matthew Stafford. 30 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season. Yeah. 30 touchdowns, two interceptions on the season, nearly 3,000 yards, competing completing 66 and a half% of his catches. Had a few games without Puka Nua. Got a a receiver at 32 years of age. We were wondering whether or not Devonte Adams was approaching the tail end of his career and he’s leading the league in touchdown catches. And eight of the nine times he’s been targeted for touchdowns, he’s, you know, they they’ve done it. I mean, you you just got to give credit where credit is due in that regard. And Matthew Stafford is absolutely balling. I think he’s the leading candidate for league MVP right now. Uh Stafford the favorite right now at minus 185. Let me let me say let me say this. If Matt Stafford gets an MVP and wins a Super Bowl this year, all of a sudden now we’re talking about one of the greatest quarterbacks in the 2000s.

FIRST TAKE | “Rams will win Super Bowl this year” – Stephen A. is endorsing Matthew Stafford for MVP