Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports ... he SUPPORTS Donovan McNabb -- arguing the QB belongs in the Hall of Fame but says he definitely AIN'T better than Troy Aikman.
Remember, McNabb made his case for Canton last week when he appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show -- and part of his argument was that his career stats are better than Aikman's.
-- McNabb has 37,276 passing yards, 234 passing TDs and 117 career interceptions in 13 seasons.
-- Aikman has 32,942 passing yards, 165 passing TDs and 141 career picks in 12 seasons.
Of course, the major difference ... Troy has 3 Super Bowl rings. Donovan has none.
So, we spoke with Aikman's #1 target, Michael Irvin, on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) and had to ask ... does McNabb have a point???
The Playmaker tells us he's riding with McNabb ... but only so far -- explaining why he believes the ex-Eagles star has the resume to score a gold jacket but he's simply NOT better than Troy.
"It just seems like everybody is talking about numbers and not the number that matters most and that's winning ... that's what playing the game is all about -- winning football games, winning Super Bowls and of course, Troy Aikman has done that."
Irvin also says McNabb played in a different style offense that Aikman -- McNabb's style is more comparable to Patrick Mahomes. And, Irvin says if Troy played in that style of offense, his numbers would have been OFF THE CHARTS!!!
We also asked if he thinks McNabb would have a Super Bowl ring on his finger if he was throwing to Michael Irvin and handing off to Emmitt Smith ... ya gotta hear his answer.