Numbers are a funny thing in sports. They’re used to measure, calculate, and compare all sorts of things. That last one makes for some interesting discussions around the proverbial water cooler as we’re all aware.

Of course, there are instances where numbers make sense. For example, every year the NFL celebrates the leaders in each statistical category. Whoever rushes for the most yards in 2019 will be declared the season’s rushing champion. That type of thing makes sense.

What doesn’t necessarily make sense is to look at numbers out of context, and shocker here, but that’s exactly what former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is doing these days. Talking to TMZ Sports he noted that he has better numbers than former Cowboys quarterback (and now FOX analyst, who will call Super Bowl LIV, hopefully the Cowboys are there!) Troy Aikman... which means he should apparently be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Donovan McNabb says he’s “absolutely” a Hall of Fame player ... telling TMZ Sports his career yards AND touchdowns should make him a shoo-in for Canton. ”My numbers are better than Troy Aikman,” the ex-Eagles superstar says. McNabb joined the guys on the “TMZ Sports” TV show -- airing weeknights on FS1 -- and said he unequivocally expects to be wearing a gold jacket at some point in his future. ”I’m not hesitating on that. I am a Hall of Famer,” McNabb says ... “My numbers speak for themselves.”

McNabb goes on to say that making it to the NFC Championship Game five times (which he and his teams did to their credit) and appearing in a Super Bowl is no easy task. That’s totally true, but to that point and the one of numbers, Aikman appeared in three Super Bowls.

Look, I’m actually higher on McNabb than it feels like most are. There was a run of time (obviously in the stretch he highlighted himself) where he operated among the game’s elite. There was a time where he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but just because his statistics are higher in the record books doesn’t tell the whole story.

McNabb has Aikman (who he used as his example for who knows what reason) beat for career totals in all of the major statistical categories, that’s undeniable. Aikman also played from 1989-2000 while McNabb’s career was from 1999-2011. McNabb got to play in the era where passing was elevated to a whole different degree than in Aikman’s day. Aikman only ever had one season with at least 20 passing touchdowns for goodness sake. Aikman also played in an offense that featured one of the best running backs to ever play the game. Obviously the Cowboys were going to feed Emmitt Smith.

Donovan McNabb was a very good quarterback, but the reality of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is that really good players are somethings just that, really good players. That’s it.