WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Opposing quarterbacks do not share the field simultaneously, but one of the most visible positions naturally draws comparisons between each team's starter.
Especially when they are the two most recent winners of the Associated Press' NFL MVP Award with 2025 NFL MVP Matthew Stafford and the Rams taking on 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen and the Bills on Monday Night Football.
"I don't know about the individual player, but for sure the team," Stafford said Thursday, when asked whether knowing there's a quarterback like Allen on the other side – and that they have to keep up with each other if Monday night follows suit to the high-scoring 2024 shootout – adds to the matchup. "I got a ton of respect for Josh, what he brings to their team. Not only from just making the plays, but I just think his presence out there gives them a ton of confidence, as it should. He's a fantastic player, has been for a while and he does a great job leading that offense and leading that team. Obviously, I'm going against their defense, but understanding full well that our defense is facing a guy that is as talented as anybody in the NFL at the quarterback position. So it'll be a big-time challenge for us as a team, as a unit. But we're looking forward to it."
The last time these two teams shared the stage, the Rams outlasted the Bills 44-42 despite Allen's six total touchdowns (three passing, three rushing). That high-scoring affair ultimately came down to an unsuccessful onside kick by Buffalo, and Los Angeles strategically managing the clock down to the final seven seconds, the duration of which was covered by punter Ethan Evans' hang time from kick to touchback to preserve the win for L.A.
Both quarterbacks in that game threw for over 320 passing yards – Stafford 320 with his two passing touchdowns, Allen 342 with his three. Allen also led the Bills in rushing, with 10 attempts for 82 yards in addition to his three rushing scores.
"I'm in awe of a lot of those guys," Stafford said, when asked about the way the quarterback position has evolved mobility-wise. "It's really cool to watch them do what they get to do, get out of some of the plays that they get out of, and make some of the plays with their legs. Obviously, he does a great job of, (in the) red zone running the football, whether it's the sneaks on the 1- or 2-yard line, or even just making plays from the 5 or 10 getting in. So he's a lot of their offense, especially down there, but he's a one-of-a-kind player at the quarterback position."
Stafford this week will be preparing to face Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard for the first time. While the preparation isn't any different in those circumstances – there's four games' worth of tape to study from this season – it is a different feeling going against a coordinator he also once went against as a player. Leonhard played safety in the league from 2005-14, the final six years of his career overlapping with the first six of Stafford.
"I played against Jim back in the day. So all these guys are like, 'Oh, Jim Leonhard?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I played against him.' I don't know what says about me," Stafford, currently in his 18th NFL season, said with a smile. "But I think he does a good job. He obviously has some influence from some places that he's been. You see the tape, really physical, disruptive front, and a back end that does a lot of different things. They'll give you a bunch of different picture changes at the snap, and (have) guys that are really talented on the outside too. So it's a big challenge."
While last Sunday's game against the Eagles wasn't one of Stafford's best statistically, his "competitive greatness" – being at his best when his best was required – leading the go-ahead scoring in Philadelphia is what resonated with head coach Sean McVay the most. McVay also said "it seems like we've all taken our turn" with some of the shortcomings offensively, indicating the blame shouldn't fall squarely on Stafford.
"I thought the cool thing about him... he was at his best in the most important moments," McVay said. "That's the competitive greatness – to find a way, in spite of some different things that maybe didn't go our way throughout the course of the day, to go 98 (yards) and to go 78 (yards). That is everything you need to know about Matthew."
Stafford knows he has things to clean up from last week, and his first four games overall – especially if Monday night becomes a reprisal of the 2024 matchup. But he's approaching those corrections with the same confidence he had on the Rams' game-winning drive in Week 4.
"I say it all the time, just trust my preparation and live with the results, right?" Stafford said. "I mean, I know I'm gonna have to stand up here and talk to you guys (media) after the game, and the world's gonna have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day, and so that's something I'm used to. I put myself out there every single day. Y'all can say what you want, judge what you want. I trust myself. Are there areas I want to be better that y'all don't even pick up on to talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure. But I knew the best thing for me was to go out there and continue to play as best I could. Crawling in a hole, not an option at that point. Just trying to make sure that I do everything I can to to pull our team out of that one and give us a chance."
