The Los Angeles Rams are 11-4, and while their Thursday Night Football loss to the Seattle Seahawks has the Rams as a Wild Card team and not in control of their NFC West destiny, Matthew Stafford has still been incredible.
He has a strong case to be the NFL MVP this season, as he's been one of, if not the best, quarterbacks in the NFL through 16 weeks. But he's not the favorite for every analyst.
Ben Solak of ESPN shared a wild take on Stafford, one that has the Rams' Super Bowl-winning quarterback not as the MVP favorite, nor even in second place.
Instead, Solak's take, which will frustrate Rams fans, has Stafford as third in his MVP ballot.
ESPN analyst has wild Matthew Stafford MVP take
Solak revealed his MVP rankings after Week 16, which featured New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye first, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers second and Stafford third.
"Stafford is unquestionably worthy of being the MVP this season." Solak writes. "I'm splitting hairs between him, Maye, and Herbert, and the hair is how good the rest of the Rams are relative to the casts of the Patriots and Chargers."
While Solak doesn't deny that Stafford is worthy of the MVP award this season, he still places him third behind Herbert and Maye due to the Rams' better offensive cast surrounding Stafford compared to the offense around Maye and Herbert.
Puka Nacua and Devante Adams are arguably the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, and their trio of tight ends and running backs, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, make up a strong offense. Not to mention a quality offensive line.
Maye has Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte as his top receivers, with TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson, along with Hunter Henry, to round out his offense. His offensive line has been banged up and is generally worse than the Rams'.
Herbert has Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen, Oronde Gadsden, Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal at his disposal. But the offensive line - without Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater - is the worst of the bunch.
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While Stafford is surrounded by the better talent, he's still having an incredible year. His 4,179 passing yards are the most in the NFL, as are his 40 touchdown passes. He also has just five interceptions, and the best QB rating in the NFL of 112.1.
He doesn't have the scrambling ability that Maye or Herbert possess, but he has over 600 more passing yards, 15 more TDs and 7 fewer interceptions than Herbert this season.
Stafford has a little more than 200 passing yards, 15 more passing TDs and three fewer interceptions than Maye this season.
Solak putting Stafford behind Maye makes some sense, as Maye has been incredible and has the Patriots within striking distance of the AFC's number one seed. But to have Herbert ahead of Stafford is a wild take to have.
Stafford has a strong case to be the MVP this season, and his team losing thanks to poor special teams play and fluke 2-point conversions shouldn't negate his odds to win the NFL MVP this season.
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