Matthew Stafford is expected to win the league MVP, and while there may be some Patriots fans who want to argue the point, no one can deny he had an amazing season. Not unprecedented, though.
Stafford is 37, and that's an age where most football players at any position have retired or, if they're still hanging around, notably declining. But there have been a decent number of recent examples of quarterbacks not only still playing but excelling.
I looked at quarterbacks who've entered the league since 1990, and how they fared once they'd reached the age of 35. How many of those guys had a season, like Stafford, putting up top-12 numbers in fantasy leagues? More than you might think.
There have been 39 top-12 seasons (1 point for every 20 passing and 10 rushing yards, 4-point TD passes) by quarterbacks aged 35 or older in the last 20 years. Those seasons have been authored by 14 different quarterbacks.
Tom Brady (not surprising; he played til he was 45) had eight such seasons. Brett Favre (six) and Drew Brees (5) are next. Aaron Rodgers has four, and he might play next year, but he's not putting up those kind of numbers these days (his last top-12 season was in 2021).
Table sorted by fantasy points. Peyton Manning's 2013 season for the Broncos looks pretty uncatchable, but Stafford made a nice run.
| 35-YEAR-OLD QBS FINISHING WITH TOP-12 NUMBERS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Age | Pass | TD | Int | Run | TD | Pts | Rk |
| 2013 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 37 | 5477 | 55 | 10 | -31 | 1 | 498.8 | 1 |
| 2021 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 44 | 5316 | 43 | 12 | 81 | 2 | 457.9 | 3 |
| 2020 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 37 | 4299 | 48 | 5 | 149 | 3 | 440.3 | 3 |
| 2018 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 36 | 5129 | 34 | 16 | 98 | 3 | 429.2 | 2 |
| 2016 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 37 | 5208 | 37 | 15 | 20 | 2 | 422.4 | 2 |
| 2025 | Matthew Stafford, LAR | 37 | 4707 | 46 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 419.5 | 2 |
| 2015 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 38 | 4770 | 36 | 7 | 53 | 3 | 410.4 | 2 |
| 2020 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 43 | 4633 | 40 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 410.3 | 7 |
| 2012 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 35 | 4827 | 34 | 8 | 32 | 4 | 404.6 | 3 |
| 2014 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 38 | 4727 | 39 | 15 | -24 | 0 | 394.0 | 3 |
| 2014 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 35 | 4952 | 33 | 17 | 68 | 1 | 393.5 | 4 |
| 2012 | Peyton Manning, Den. | 36 | 4659 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 383.6 | 6 |
| 2021 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 38 | 4115 | 37 | 4 | 101 | 3 | 382.5 | 8 |
| 2015 | Carson Palmer, Ari. | 36 | 4671 | 35 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 382.0 | 5 |
| 2015 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 36 | 4870 | 32 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 378.9 | 6 |
| 2018 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 35 | 4442 | 25 | 2 | 269 | 2 | 367.0 | 7 |
| 2017 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 40 | 4577 | 32 | 8 | 28 | 0 | 363.7 | 3 |
| 2018 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 39 | 3992 | 32 | 5 | 22 | 4 | 356.9 | 9 |
| 2020 | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 35 | 4581 | 26 | 11 | 92 | 2 | 356.3 | 12 |
| 2016 | Philip Rivers, S.D. | 35 | 4386 | 33 | 21 | 35 | 0 | 354.8 | 6 |
| 2018 | Philip Rivers, LAC | 37 | 4308 | 32 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 354.1 | 10 |
| 2008 | Kurt Warner, Ari. | 37 | 4583 | 30 | 14 | -2 | 0 | 351.0 | 4 |
| 2022 | Tom Brady, T.B. | 45 | 4694 | 25 | 9 | -1 | 1 | 344.6 | 10 |
| 2009 | Brett Favre, Min. | 40 | 4202 | 33 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 343.6 | 7 |
| 2014 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 37 | 4109 | 33 | 9 | 57 | 0 | 343.2 | 11 |
| 2017 | Philip Rivers, LAC | 36 | 4515 | 28 | 10 | -2 | 0 | 337.6 | 7 |
| 2019 | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 36 | 4002 | 26 | 4 | 183 | 1 | 334.4 | 12 |
| 2017 | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 35 | 4251 | 28 | 14 | 47 | 0 | 333.3 | 9 |
| 2004 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 35 | 4088 | 30 | 17 | 36 | 0 | 332.0 | 6 |
| 2013 | Tom Brady, N.E. | 36 | 4343 | 25 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 323.0 | 11 |
| 2017 | Drew Brees, N.O. | 38 | 4334 | 23 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 321.9 | 11 |
| 2007 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 38 | 4155 | 28 | 15 | 12 | 0 | 321.0 | 7 |
| 2003 | Brad Johnson, T.B. | 35 | 3811 | 26 | 21 | 33 | 0 | 299.7 | 9 |
| 2007 | Kurt Warner, Ari. | 36 | 3417 | 27 | 17 | 15 | 1 | 286.4 | 10 |
| 2005 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 36 | 3881 | 20 | 29 | 62 | 0 | 284.3 | 8 |
| 2007 | Jon Kitna, Det. | 35 | 4068 | 18 | 20 | 63 | 0 | 283.6 | 11 |
| 2005 | Trent Green, K.C. | 35 | 4014 | 17 | 10 | 82 | 0 | 278.9 | 9 |
| 2006 | Brett Favre, G.B. | 37 | 3885 | 18 | 18 | 29 | 1 | 275.2 | 8 |
| 2008 | Brett Favre, NYJ | 39 | 3472 | 22 | 22 | 43 | 1 | 274.1 | 11 |
Stafford says he'll take a little time before deciding whether to return for the 2026 season. Considering how well 2025 went, I don't think there's much doubt he'll give it one more year.
--Andy Richardson

