For the second consecutive season, the NFL MVP race came right down to the wire.

Just as Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson battled for the award down the stretch in 2024, Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford and New England Patriots QB Drake Maye both emerged as the MVP favorite at one point or another during the final weeks of the 2025 season.

Maye is the only one of the two headed to Super Bowl 60 with a chance to win a championship, but Stafford now has the edge over his much younger counterpart in one category after the Rams veteran took home his first MVP award on Thursday night.

Here’s what you need to know about Stafford’s MVP win over Maye and others.

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Why Matthew Stafford won NFL MVP award

When Stafford threw three interceptions in a Rams loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17, Maye briefly took over as the MVP favorite. Those odds flipped again before regular season ended, but why? 

It certainly didn’t hurt that Stafford finished the season with a brilliant three-touchdown game against the Arizona Cardinals, but voters presumably put the late-season loss out of mind and looked at the total body of work, which revealed Stafford had some major advantages over the Patriots quarterback.

Stafford led the NFL with 46 touchdown passes, 15 more than Maye, and he threw the same number of interceptions as Maye. Stafford’s 4,707 passing yards led the NFL, though Maye had a slightly better quarterback rating.

Stafford led a more prolific offense than Maye did, as the Rams finished the regular season ranked first in the NFL in both points and yards. He threw for multiple touchdown passes in 15 of his 17 starts and had a whopping nine games with at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions. 

The Patriots won the AFC East at 14-3, while the Rams were a wild-card team in the NFC at 12-5. That was a feather in Maye’s cap, but a closer look at the circumstances offers a reminder that New England faced a lighter schedule than L.A., which played in a terrific NFC West. It’s also worth noting the Rams scored at least 23 points in all five of their regular season losses, averaging 27.6 points per game in defeat and allowing an average of 31 points in those games.

Failing to win the NFC West certainly didn’t help Stafford’s case, but none of the Rams’ losses was a true offensive dud, with the only potential exception being his turnover-happy night against the Falcons.

It was close in the end, as Stafford beat Maye by just five votes to take home the win.

AP NFL MVP
1. Matthew Stafford 366 points, 24 first-place votes
2. Drake Maye 361, 23
3. Josh Allen 91, 2
4. Christian McCaffrey 71, 0
5. Trevor Lawrence 49, 0
Justin Herbert got the other first-place vote.

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 6, 2026

The player with the most eye-popping numbers didn’t win MVP last season, but Stafford’s stats were too tough for voters to ignore, even with the turnaround Maye helped lead in Foxborough. 

MORE: The 7 closest NFL MVP races ever

Rams MVP winners

Stafford is the fifth Rams player to win the AP NFL MVP award, joining Kurt Warner (twice), Marshall Faulk and Roman Gabriel.

Gabriel won the award when he threw for 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 1969, and it would be another 30 years until the Rams produced another MVP. Warner was a stunning winner after his breakout 1999 season, which ended with a championship, but it was far less surprising when he won it again in 2001.

Between Warner’s wins was an MVP award for Faulk, who accounted for 2,189 scrimmage yards and 26 touchdowns in 2000. Faulk finished second to Warner in MVP voting in both 1999 and 2001.

24 years after Warner, Stafford is a first-time MVP winner and pads a legacy that appears to have him ticketed for the Hall of Fame when all is said and done.

MORE: How does MVP voting work in the NFL?

Matthew Stafford vs. Drake Maye stats

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Stafford held the advantage over Maye in passing yards and touchdown passes, throwing 15 more touchdowns than Maye in 2025, but the Patriots quarterback did have an advantage in completion rate, passer rating and rushing stats.

On one hand, one could argue Stafford put up better numbers against tougher competition. On the other hand, it can be argued Maye had a much less impressive supporting cast and that efficiency should count for something.

Still, a 46:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio is nothing to scoff at. Stafford’s ability to get the ball to the end zone and take care of the ball culminated in a streak of 28 consecutive touchdown passes without an interception this season, which is one way to make an MVP case.