Matthew Stafford Is A Legit MVP Candidate
When people talk about elite – a word widely misused in recent years, by the way – quarterbacks in the NFL, the same names pop out most of the time. Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are the best in the bunch, but there are others that need recognition. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan and Andrew Luck need to be on that group.
However, one quarterback that doesn’t receive the kind of recognition he deserves is Matthew Stafford. The Detroit Lions’ signal-caller has been playing lights out this year, and he’s been an MVP candidate. Yes, that’s not a typo or a stretch. Stafford has been THAT GOOD this season.
Stafford doesn’t lead the NFL in any of the important categories. But there’s no way to deny he’s been very effective. The 28-year-old ranks eighth in passing yards (3,447), has 22 TDs against only seven interceptions, and his 97.8 rating shows how good he’s been. But in his case the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Stafford has overcame the lack of a running game to put the Lions at top of the NFC North. To make matters worse, Calvin Johnson retired so he doesn’t have a dominant receiver on the roster. And he also has led Detroit to several 4th quarter comebacks throughout the season. Sure, he’s no Derek Carr. But he’s been close when it comes to effectiveness in the final 15 minutes of a game.
If one wants to look at the numbers, Matt Ryan has the most inflated numbers and could easily be the MVP. But the definition of the Award tries to define who’s the most important player on a specific team. And we’re sure the Lions wouldn’t be second in the NFC without Stafford.
It might be a stretch to give him the MVP with three games left on the schedule, but there’s no way to deny his impact on Detroit. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s named the MVP – as long as the Lions remain near the top of the NFC in what has been a bounce-back season for the franchise.
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