Los Angeles Rams

Has Matthew Stafford clinched his Hall of Fame case?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 11:01 a.m. ET

Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams rallied to capture the Lombardi Trophy with a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

The Rams QB went 26-for-40 (65%) for 283 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, but perhaps most importantly, he came up huge when his team needed him the most.

L.A. trailed the entire second half until the 1:25 mark in the fourth quarter, when Stafford connected with Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp for the game-sealing TD. It is the third time in the Rams' last three playoff games that Stafford has led a game-winning scoring drive when L.A. was tied or losing in the fourth quarter.

It also left some, including FOX Sports NFL Analyst Mark Sanchez, raving about his performance.

Mark Sanchez: Validation for Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford spent 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions and had zero playoff wins. After arriving in Los Angeles, he wins a Super Bowl in his first season with the Rams. Mark Sanchez discusses what the title means for Stafford's legacy.

But for Stafford, winning was a long time coming. After being chosen as the Lions' No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Stafford went 74-90-1 in 12 seasons under three different coaches in Detroit. He led Detroit to just four winning seasons — including a monster 5,038-yard, 41-touchdown campaign in 2011 — and three trips to the NFC playoffs. He was traded to the Rams in March 2021 after going 8-15-1 as the starter in his last two seasons with the Lions.

Now, the rest is history, as he's won his first Super Bowl in his first year with the Rams.

The Rams went 12-5 in the regular season, as Stafford finished with 4,886 yards, 41 TDs and a league-leading 17 INTs. His immediate connection with Kupp was a driving force in L.A.'s success and helped lead the Rams all the way to the biggest game of the year.

When it come to his larger body of work, Stafford has an impressive collection of individual statistics, including 49,995 career passing yards, the 12th-most all-time. That is one spot ahead of Hall of Famer Warren Moon (49,325) and just behind Hall of Famer John Elway (51,475).

Stafford also has 323 passing touchdowns, more than Moon (291), Elway (300) and other Hall of Famers like Johnny Unitas (290) and Joe Montana (273).

When you consider the entire package — all the losing in Detroit, the impressive statistical résumé, and now, a Super Bowl ring — does it all add up to a legitimate Hall of Fame candidacy?

On Monday's "First Things First," Nick Wright explained why he believes the 34-year-old QB has not earned a Hall of Fame spot — or even a discussion — despite the Super Bowl win and being a "really good" player.

"I'm gonna lose my mind. Folks, folks, listen," he began. "The Hall of Fame cannot just be a bunch of quarterbacks and Aaron Donald. And I guess J.J. Watt can come in, too, and Randy Moss. Guys, it's the Hall of Fame. And while there is not a specific checkmark-based criteria, I think we can all agree to be a Hall of Famer, can you maybe be consistently one of, I don't know, the five best currently playing at your own position?

"Matt Stafford has not been that throughout his career. Matt Stafford is a very nice player. But Matt Stafford, I want to tell you guys in his career, he has been an All-Pro zero times. He's been a Pro Bowler once. … Same as Mac Jones now. Unbelievable."

"Do you want to know what categories in a single season Matt Stafford's ever led the league in?" he asked. "Major passing categories — touchdowns, never, yards, never, rating, never, completion percentage, never. Pick-sixes? Four times. Interceptions? Once, this year. That's all he's ever led the league in.

"Here's a short list of guys who missed out on the Hall of Fame [a week] ago. Patrick Willis, DeMarcus Ware, Andre Johnson, Torry Holt, Devin Hester. Between those five guys, they made 34 Pro Bowls and 24 All-Pros. So the average guy that missed out was a seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro. … Matt Stafford is not a Hall of Famer. Everybody knows he's not a Hall of Famer.

"No one said Stafford is bad, but the threshold for Hall of Fame is not ‘good’."

Stafford's career record is 86-95-1 with a 323/161 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 91.1 passer rating.

However, Wright's cohost Chris Broussard revealed why the recent Super Bowl win could be a step in the right direction for Stafford in his HOF case and explained what he needs to do to get there.

"[Stafford] did throw three touchdowns, including the game-winner [on Sunday]. John Elway threw three touchdowns in five Super Bowls combined, just saying," he said. "He didn't play that badly. He doesn't need to win another Super Bowl. That would be great, but … four more years of high-level play with the Rams being in contention … All of this is in the realm of possibility.

"He's going to wind up in the top 10 in passing TDs — he's already 12th — and maybe top five in passing yards," he added. "I think he's building a case that's not quite there yet, but could get there."