Turf Show Times
If Matthew Stafford doesn’t win MVP this season, he could be the first quarterback to lose a race he should have been leading wire-to-wire, but those fears can be put to rest with one more dominant game and a win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday. Or those fears will become a reality should the Rams lose because of something Stafford does in front of millions of fans (and 50 voters) on the biggest stage.
Even as Drake Maye and Josh Allen push for votes in recent weeks, Stafford has continued to produce touchdowns at the highest clip of his career: Stafford has thrown multiple touchdowns in eight consecutive games, which is twice as long as the second-longest active streak by any other quarterback.
In the last five games, Stafford has the highest passer rating in the league (107.2) and he’s the quarterback of the most potent, efficient, and successful offense on any team. Where Stafford gets “docked” in spite of his offensive prowess is the strength of his coaching staff, supporting cast, and run game.
This has led to the conversation opening up to Josh Allen this week after the Bills beat Maye’s Patriots 35-31. It’s not just a reaction to a good game by a good quarterback over a good team: It’s part of an agenda to make sure that the MVP race isn’t as boring of a foregone conclusion as it appears to be. Either Allen or Maye were going to be called “MVP favorites” after beating the other on Sunday.
Now that same opportunity lies in wait for Stafford on Thursday. Beat the Seahawks, all but secure the division and the number one seed, and Allen’s MVP campaign is over. It’s over. Maye’s too.
But lose?
If the Rams lose to the Seahawks, Stafford probably still wins MVP but it’s not nearly as much of a blowout vote as it could be if L.A. wins on Thursday. And it opens the door for Allen or Maye to take the lead if either of their teams win out (Maye gets the Ravens this week, Allen gets the Eagles next week) and take the AFC East, possibly the one seed, with a dominant record.
Matthew Stafford is 6-0 against the Seahawks since joining the Rams, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any demons to exorcise.
Stafford was 0-2 in Seattle with the Lions prior to joining, then he had two easy wins there after joining the Rams. But after Mike Macdonald was hired to be the head coach and defensive coordinator of the Seahawks, Stafford’s success against Seattle has been a little harder to come by:
The Rams needed OT to beat Seattle in Seattle in 2024.
The Rams have won the two SoFi games against Macdonald by a combined total of 3 points.
Sean McVay is 3-0 against Macdonald since he became the head coach, but all of...
