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Patrick Mahomes has pushed the rest of the AFC into the dark ages with his domination since 2018. However, while the AFC at least has Mahomes as one of the best quarterbacks in modern history, the NFC is still looking for its equivalent. Here's how Dan Graziano put it eloquently in Monday's edition of Get Up:
"[00:05:47] The guy I picked is Matthew Stafford. He's the only quarterback in the NFC that's won the Super Bowl. And he's one of the only [four] that's been there. ... I think he's the guy I would trust the most to deliver at a high level. [00:06:10]"
Matthew Stafford headlines NFC's skeleton crew of potential Patrick Mahomes challengers
While the AFC has matured into a mid-2000s mold with one quarterback at the top and the rest chasing, the NFC is still attempting to find its dominator. The conference's lone Super Bowl-winning starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, is entering the final phase of his starting career on the plus side of 35 years old.
Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and other noteworthy NFC names are either out of the conference or out of the league. As the 2024 offseason dawns, Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford and Jalen Hurts remain the NFC's only starting quarterbacks with Super Bowl experience.
Stafford is the only one of those players who has won the Big Game, and his only win came against Joe Burrow, not Patrick Mahomes. At this point, outside of hoping that one of the rookie quarterbacks lands with the NFC and promptly explodes like Mahomes, many believe their hopes of felling the Chiefs lie with these four quarterbacks.
The only NFC quarterback to defeat Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs was Tom Brady, an AFC alumni with all of his Super Bowl experience stemming from his AFC rule.
At this point, the NFL is slipping back into a similar state it was in 20 years ago with one AFC quarterback dominating his conference, building a massive amount of playoff and Super Bowl experience. Meanwhile, the dominant quarterback takes turns defeating newcomers to the stage.
Can the NFC find its own version of Patrick Mahomes to force the road to the Lombardi Trophy to go through its young veteran Super Bowl winner? If so, it appears it could take years before the NFC gets into a similar position as the AFC.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Get Up" and H/T Sportskeeda.
