It can be hard to let go of the past. That's the case for many of us in life but it's been especially true regarding rankings in the NFL. For example, The 33rd Team recently released their quarterback power rankings heading into Week 5 and they were very complimentary of Houston Texans signal-caller C.J. Stroud.
The 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year was given plenty of respect as he cracked the top five, ahead of some huge stars such as Dak Prescott, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers. Having said that, he's also behind Matthew Stafford, who is still being praised despite not having a great campaign since 2021.
Of course, that was the year Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl, which has led to him being ranked far too high by many analysts.
With that being the case, the ghost of Matthew Stafford lands one spot ahead of Stroud, at No. 4.
There's no comparison between C.J. Stroud and Matthew Stafford
If we were going by career statistics, it would make sense for Stafford to go in front of Stroud. That's not a knock on Stroud, just the facts. Stafford has been in the NFL since 2009 and has accomplished a lot in his career, including the title.
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That's not what this ranking is, however. It's a current power ranking heading into Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season and there's no comparison between the two players right now.
Stafford and the Rams are off to an abysmal 1-3 start. He has completed 68.5 percent of his attempts for 978 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Stroud, on the other hand, has Houston off to a 3-1 start while completing 67.6 percent of his attempts for 1,054 yards with a 6-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
All that being said, it's easy to see that Stroud is the better player — and he has a chance to drive that point home on Sunday when he faces Josh Allen (who was No. 2 in the ranking) and the Buffalo Bills.