So, as far as I can tell the model of 737 (the 737-800) is the predecessor of the 737 MAX. I believe this plane did not have the much maligned MCAS system. Nor the engines that affected handling so much that Boeing decided to add MCAS.
Edit: Wikipedia article on MCAS confirms. MCAS was introduced because the max is so different from the 737-800
MCAS was a bad sticking plaster on a different problem - that the 737-800 doesn't have.
To stick larger engines on the 737, they had to be moved forward. This meant that if the nose pitched up, there was a large area ahead of the wings "catching wind" and pitching the nose further. The MCAS was a "solution" to that - if it detected the nose pitching up, it would counter that by trimming down. In the MCAS-related crashes, the sensors malfunctioned and airplane just pitched down until it crashed.
"The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) flight control law was implemented on the 737 MAX ... make the 737 MAX perform similarly to its immediate predecessor, the 737NG". Noting that the 737-800 is the long variant of the 737NG.
In other words, the MCAS wikipedia article states that MCAS was introduced on the 737-MAX so it would handle more like the 737-800. Which cements the conclusion that the 737-800 does not have MCAS.
But it's still a Boeing. Which makes it a close enough fit to satisfy the needs of the people who's low effort commentary invariably drowns out any legitimate discourse about events like this.
Edit: Wikipedia article on MCAS confirms. MCAS was introduced because the max is so different from the 737-800