"Matthew Stafford gets another one, he has an MVP in his back pocket, he becomes top-five, top-seven of all-time conversation," Orlovsky said on Get Up.Top five? Top seven?Let us first establish the modern-day quarterbacks whom Stafford ranks below historically, in no particular order: 8.Brett FavreMATTHEW STAFFORD, JOSH ALLEN HEADLINE 'MADDEN NFL 27' RATINGS AS 99 CLUB MEMBERSAnd then there is another group of pre-1980s quarterbacks who are also ranked ahead of Stafford on most all-time lists:A recent Bleacher Report ranking of the 99 greatest quarterbacks featured Stafford at 20th.
He has some work to do to reach the top five, or seven.For the sake of argument, let's set aside the pre-modern era.The difference in competition, rules, statistics, and number of games makes such comparisons difficult and misleading.Today, Stafford is commonly listed in an echelon with the likes of Troy Aikman, Ben Roethlisberger, Dan Marino, and Steve Young.
These are all-time greats who sit a tier below the, let's call it, G.O.A.T.category.For example, Brady is universally recognized as the greatest, but there are arguments, of varying degrees of validity, that Montana, Manning, Mahomes, and Rodgers are better.Of that top tier, a second Super Bowl win, the crux of Orlovsky's case, would give Stafford more rings than Brees, Rodgers, and Favre.
Granted, he never quite achieved the sustained individual success of those three.Stafford was the best quarterback in the NFL last season, winning his first league MVP.The knock is that it was the first year in which he was definitively in that conversation.
Brees, Rodgers, and Favre each spent multiple seasons among the two or three best players in the league.Wide receiver Puka Nacua greets quarterback Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Dec.7, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona.
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