Matthew Stafford is the second-best quarterback in the NFL. That’s not hyperbole. The 37-year-old has 35 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions, he’s leading the league in passer rating, and the Rams are 10-3. He jumped Jalen Hurts in this week’s HeyTC Daily QB Rankings and it wasn’t close.
This is the same guy who started the season in the low 20s. Unbelievable.
Stafford’s Resurrection Is the Story of 2025
Remember when people wondered if Stafford was done? That feels like decades ago now. He missed all of training camp with a back injury. Came back. Threw 27 touchdowns since his last interception in Week 3. The Rams are first in offensive and defensive DVOA, joining the 1994 Cowboys, 2001 Rams, 2007 Patriots, and 2014 Broncos as the only teams to accomplish that after Week 10.
That’s insane company.
Stafford’s season projects to 4,374 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, and three picks. That puts him in the conversation with Peyton Manning’s 2013, Aaron Rodgers’ 2020, and Patrick Mahomes’ 2018. At 37 years old. With Puka Nacua and Davante Adams making catches that shouldn’t be legal, Stafford’s having the best statistical season of his career. Sean McVay called it “total command.” That might be underselling it.
Sam Darnold Finally Cracks the Top 10
And he deserves every bit of it. Darnold’s 10-3 with the Seahawks, throwing 22 touchdowns to 11 interceptions with 3,162 yards. That’s after his 35-touchdown, Pro Bowl season in Minnesota last year. Add those two campaigns together and Darnold’s the only quarterback playing at an elite level when it comes to wins and losses in the regular season over the entire two-year stretch.
Think about that for a second.
The Jets gave up on him. Carolina didn’t know what to do with him. San Francisco made him a backup. Now he’s a Top 10 quarterback running Klint Kubiak’s offense in Seattle like he was born for it. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on pace to shatter the single-season receiving record. The Seahawks score 29.2 points per game. Darnold completed all 16 of his first-half passes against Washington while throwing four touchdowns. Nobody’s done that since Tom Brady in 2007.
The late-career Darnold renaissance isn’t a fluke anymore. It’s just who he is now.
Lamar Jackson’s Freefall Continues
Here’s where things get uncomfortable for Baltimore. Lamar Jackson has dropped to 14th in the HeyTC Daily QB Rankings after sitting as high as sixth earlier this year. The Ravens are 6-7. They started the season 1-5. Jackson’s missed three games with a hamstring injury. And that “average at best” playoff resume keeps hanging over everything.
| Player | Record | Pass TDs | INTs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford | 10-3 | 35 | 4 |
| Sam Darnold | 10-3 | 22 | 11 |
| Lamar Jackson | 6-7 | 16 | 5 |
| Shedeur Sanders | 1-2 | 5 | 3 |
Jackson’s 3-5 in the playoffs. That includes getting shut down by the Titans as the top seed in 2019, getting demolished by Buffalo in 2020, and losing the AFC Championship to Kansas City last January despite having home field. The talent is obvious. The regular season numbers are usually elite. But the postseason? Baltimore fans might be looking at a serious question by 2027 if things don’t change.
The Ravens just lost to Pittsburgh. They’re staring at Cincinnati next week. This team looked like Super Bowl favorites in the preseason. Now they’re fighting to stay in the playoff picture.
Shedeur Sanders Cracks the Top 30
The fifth-round pick out of Colorado just had his breakout game—364 yards and three touchdowns against Tennessee. That’s the second-most passing yards by a rookie picked 144th overall or later since 1966. He also ran for a score. The Browns lost 31-29 because they couldn’t convert two-point conversions and someone decided to run Wildcat instead of letting Sanders finish what he started.
Look. Cleveland is 3-10. They’re not going anywhere. But Sanders joined Joe Burrow as the only rookie quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era with 350+ passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown in a single game. His season totals now sit at 769 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 3 picks across three starts plus mop-up duty. Not eye-popping, but that Titans game showed what he’s capable of.
His HeyTC Team QB Rankings position is 28th now. Just like Jaxson Dart in New York, the team loses but the quarterback produces. Fantasy owners are paying attention even if the win column isn’t.
Down the Stretch They Go
The Rams host the Lions next week. That’s the real test for Stafford’s MVP candidacy. Detroit’s 8-5 but still dangerous. If L.A. wins that game, the Stafford-for-MVP conversation goes from whisper to roar.
Darnold’s Seahawks need to keep winning to hold off the Rams in the NFC West. The schedule gets dicey. But the Super Bowl Simulator shows both teams as legitimate contenders, which is more than you could’ve said for either fanbase back in September.
Jackson and the Ravens have four games left to salvage their season. The talent’s still there. Derrick Henry is still running people over. Zay Flowers just went over 100 yards against Pittsburgh for the first time since Week 1. But the margin for error is gone. Baltimore has to basically run the table to make the playoffs.
And Sanders? He gets four more games to show Cleveland’s front office what he can do. Deshaun Watson’s contract is still on the books. The quarterback situation is a mess. But at least now they know the kid can play.
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