Dan Orlovsky has spent years building his brand as ESPN’s go-to chalkboard guru who grinds the tape, but whenever Matthew Stafford enters the conversation, all that objective film study seemingly flies right out the window. In his latest “commitment to simping” over Stafford, he made some big claims, which, safe to say, haven’t gone down well with the NFL audience.
While reacting to the massive news of Aaron Donald coming out of retirement to join the Los Angeles Rams super team, Dan Orlovsky completely bypassed the star-studded defensive line to make a wild Stafford claim that ended with a possible top-5 or top-7 QB crowning of the 2025 NFL MVP.
“Think about the impact that this move can not only have on Aaron Donald, but other people’s legacies. Matthew Stafford gets another one; he has an MVP in his back pocket; he becomes a top-five, top-seven quarterback of all-time conversation,” Dan Orlovsky claimed on Monday’s ESPN’s Get Up episode via Awful Announcing on X.
Donald signed a one-year, $20 million deal to chase another ring alongside Myles Garrett. But fans quickly pushed back against using team trophies to pump up Stafford, as “Championships are team accomplishments”.
Many people pointed out that historically, all-time QB greats like Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning boast multiple All-Pro first-team honors. Matthew Stafford only earned his first career First-Team All-Pro nod in 2025, and that doesn’t even come close to putting him in top -5 conversations. One fan mocked Dan Orlovsky’s knowledge, calling it a “laughable opinion from Dan, per usual.”
Another fan called out Dan Orlovsky for his double standards, asking why Matthew Stafford enters top-7 all-time debates off a loaded Rams roster while Jalen Hurts is constantly dismissed as being carried by his. Critics noted Hurts reached multiple Super Bowls and dominated the Rams with a head-to-head 5-0 record: “Please make sense of this @danorlovsky7.”
During Stafford and Johnson’s seven seasons together, Detroit posted two winning records and made the playoffs twice. Across his entire Lions tenure, Stafford went 74-90-1 as a starter and 0-3 in the playoffs. For many fans, this still remains the defining feature of his career that another Super Bowl ring cannot just erase.
Dan Orlovsky was the backup to Stafford on the Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2016. So the bias was clearly on display and is well documented. Former cornerback Richard Sherman has previously called Dan Orlovsky an unashamed “homer” for Stafford.
“ESPN has turned into “what’s the dumbest fucking sports opinion we can push” opinions Iike this used to lose you your job,” one fan called for the firing of Dan Orlovsky.
Despite all the backlash, the fact remains that Matthew Stafford is coming off a mega season in LA and will most likely be backing it up with a Super Bowl in 2026, as Polymarket has the Rams at 16% odds of winning the championship.
Matthew Stafford put together a stellar MVP season, leading the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 TDs to just 8 interceptions. He guided the Rams to a 12-5 record and the league’s top-ranked scoring offense, and the Rams fanbase and Dan Orlovsky will be hoping this form continues into 2026.