Los Angeles Rams star Matthew Stafford received lofty praise from Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, who also had a legendary (even for an eventual Hall of Famer) career at the quarterback position.
Brady and Stafford have an interesting history on the field, and they share a mutual respect.
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star cited one of Stafford’s most celebrated skills: the no-look pass.
Raiders’ Tom Brady Name-Drops Rams’ Matthew Stafford
GettyMatthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams adjusts a play against the Houston Texans.
Brady spoke with Fox Sports 1’s Colin Cowherd, who asked the seven-time Super Bowl champion if there were any quarterbacks in the game today that made him think, “I can see he’s operating at a different level” in terms of pre-snap operation, leading to the Rams’ star, Stafford.
Brady said Stafford “jumps to the top of my mind.”
“When you see someone do these no-look passes like he did last week, he knows where the defense is going to be aligned,” Brady told Cowherd on September 12. “He sees a certain coverage, he knows the high-low combination that’s going to work against that coverage. So, he stares at the low defender, draws the coverage to the low defender, stares at the low defender, and then throws it to the higher receiver in the combination.”
Stafford threw a no-look pass to wide receiver Puka Nacua in the Rams’ 14-9 win over the Houston Texans in Week 1. Sharp Football Analytics’ Warren Sharp called the throw “insane.”
“That is an elite level of play in his ability to recognize defenses and then make those type of throws,” Brady told Cowherd. “So he’s the one, and again, he’s a veteran quarterback. He’s played a lot of football.”
Matthew Stafford Got Best of Tom Brady in Postseason
GettyTom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speaks with Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions following a game.
Brady and Stafford squared off six times as players, five of which came during the regular season, but only once when the latter was with the Rams. That was during the 2021 NFC Divisional Playoffs, where Stafford and the Rams beat Brady’s Buccaneers 30-27 thanks to LA’s QB.
Stafford threw for 366 yards and 2 TDs on 73.7% completion, getting out to a 27-3 lead. But the Bucs rattled off 24 unanswered points to tie the game.
Stafford drove the Rams down the field for a game-winning field goal by Matt Gay.
The Rams went on to win the Super Bowl that season, which was Stafford’s first in LA after a trade from the Detroit Lions. Brady retired in 2023 after the following campaign (2022) and, in addition to Raiders ownership and other ventures, now does color commentary on game days.
Raiders had Matthew Stafford on Radar
GettyLas Vegas Raiders owner and managing general partner and Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis (L) and Tom Brady attend Game One of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs.
Brady’s affinity for Stafford is more than just lip service, with the Raiders meeting with the Rams’ QB after LA granted his camp permission to speak with other teams as they gauged his value and the possibility of a trade. There was an uproar about potential tampering, which the NFL denied.
In the end, Stafford reworked his contract with the Rams into a two-year, $80 million deal, and the Raiders instead acquired Geno Smith in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.
There was also speculation during the 2024 campaign that Stafford could fit with the Raiders.
Notably, ESPN’s Mina Kimes cited Davante Adams as a potential reason Stafford would fit with the Raiders. Las Vegas traded Adams to the New York Jets during the campaign, where he reunited with former Green Bay Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers.
That did not work as planned, and Adams secured his release from the Jets, only to sign with the Rams, where he teams up with Stafford anyway.
We probably all knew, at some point, the Tush Push was going to become a talking point. It is, after all, football season.
This year, it lasted all the way until Week 2.
Fox Sports color commentator and 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady called out the Philadelphia Eagles for their famous short yardage play in a 20-17 win by the Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It’s like (the Eagles) start every position at 1st and 9 because they’re stealing a yard with that play every time,” Brady said on September 14.
The Eagles used the Tush Push 5 times in the fourth quarter, including on a controversial 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jalen Hurts to give the Eagles a 20-10 lead with 7:48 left in the game.
On that play, all 3 of the Eagles’ interior offensive linemen appeared to be offsides before the ball was snapped.
The thing about the Tush Push is the Eagles commit about 17 penalties during it and the NFL just doesn’t call them.
Center is so far offsides you can’t even see the ball. pic.twitter.com/JMlH22zcBD
— Nate Sanchez (@nate_sanch77) September 14, 2025
Swift Public Backlash To Controversial Play
Brady wasn’t the only one who seemed to be calling out the Eagles over their rugby style play, which has proven to be pretty much unstoppable.
“I like the Tush Push,” Underdog’s Hayden Winks wrote on his official X account. “Always have. But if we are being honest about it this year, the Eagles are lining up offsides and jumping the snap early.”
“The Eagles commit about 5 penalties during a Tush Push, and the NFL just doesn’t call them,” Washington Commanders superfan Chris Bryant wrote on his official X account. “Center is offsides, guards false start. Ban the play.”
“Eagles fans, this ain’t a shot at you,” Missouri KOLR TV’s Jesse Inman wrote on X. “They’re smart for running a play the referees allow them to break TWO rules on. Got 2-3 players lined up offsides every time (center, guards). PLUS, the refs completely disregard the false start.”
“Tush Push is bad for the game,” NFL reporter Kevin Sheehan wrote on X. “Not because it works for 1 team more than any other but because the play isn’t officiated properly. False starts/offsides for most part ignored. The play slows the pace of game too. This will be the last yr. They’ll get votes to abolish next time.”
Tush Push’s Days Might Be Numbered
The NFL delivered a stunning decision on May 21 with owners voting to keep the “Tush Push” play that has proven to be almost unstoppable for the Eagles in short yardage situations. The vote was helped by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and legendary Eagles center Jason Kelce making impassioned please to keep it in place.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the vote fell 2 shorts vote of the “Tush Push” being banned.
“Final vote on the proposed ban of the Tush Push, per sources: 22-10,” Schefter wrote on his official X account. “At least 24 votes were needed to ban The Tush Push.”
In its current version the play — also known as “The Brotherly Shove” — Hurts lines up under center with 2 teammates behind him in a short-yardage situation. Hurts takes the ball and his teammates come from behind and shove him toward the yardage he needs.
It’s produced 27 touchdowns for the Eagles over the last 3 seasons.s
