There's a social media schtick that I enjoy. It hasn't attained full-blown meme status, but popular among online football fans, it essentially amounts to "If Patrick Mahomes Did That…"
When your team's quarterback makes a play that doesn't get the credit it deserves, you hypothesize about the lavish praise that would be poured out for Kansas City's two-time MVP had he made a similar throw.
Well, guess what?
No sooner did I write the above than I happened to notice friend-of-the-Rams and ESPN analyst Mina Kimes engaging with this very phenomenon and touting Matthew Stafford!
Another football mind I admire greatly, Ted Nguyen, recently took the bit to Inception levels.
We can all agree that Mahomes is more than deserving of his elite reputation and accolades. In the aftermath of a loss to Buffalo, his postgame comments are going viral much the same way his mind-bending individual efforts often do.
But earlier in Week 14, on a soggy Sunday in Baltimore, Stafford had several moments that reminded us that he's been making Mahomes Magic since Mahomes was still in middle school.
An eight-year NFL veteran in his own right, receiver Demarcus Robinson has played with both quarterbacks, and on this week's Rams Revealed, we discussed what makes Stafford unique.
"The love of the game he still has," Robinson said. "How hard he goes, the grit. He never gives up even when he's injured or going down or has pain. He's been in it for a long time. He knows how to win. I'm just glad he's my quarterback right now, for sure."
In another remarkable coincidence, Stafford actually dropped Mahomes' name after connecting with Robinson for a go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown in Baltimore – a play in which the Rams quarterback stepped up to avoid pressure, then dropped his arm angle to zip a spiral off one foot to the back of the end zone.
"(Stafford) was like, 'That's all the Mahomes I got for you,'" Robinson recounted. "I was like, 'No man that's all you, right there, bro. No Mahomes, right there. That's all Stafford.'"
Robinson has scored in consecutive games for the Rams, proving to be yet another valuable free agent signing to complement a youthful and overachieving roster. And as he reminded us, his teams have reached the postseason in each of his seven prior NFL campaigns – he doesn't intend to snap that streak this January.
Join us for more on Robinson's career, his first lap in Los Angeles, how the Rams have turned a corner offensively since the bye, and what's ahead for the team as they prepare to host Washington and New Orleans at SoFi Stadium.
Rams Revealed is available each week on YouTube as well as your preferred podcast platform.
