SAN FRANCISCO — It took a long time for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to win his first NFL MVP award. And when he did win, he barely won it.
Stafford won his first NFL MVP award, which was announced at the annual NFL Honors show Thursday, narrowly edging New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Winning an MVP puts him even closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Stafford barely won the award. He had 366 points, with 24 first-place votes according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. Maye was right behind with 361 points, and 23 first-place votes. The NFL has gone to a points system for its awards voting, with first-place votes worth 10 points, second-place votes worth five, third-place votes worth three, fourth-place votes worth two and fifth-place votes worth one. Had one Stafford voter selected Maye as MVP and put Stafford second, it would have been a split award. Two voters gave Josh Allen a first-place vote, one gave Justin Herbert a first-place vote, and a change from any of those three voters to Maye would have changed the outcome. (Sam Monson of The 33rd Team claimed on X he voted for Herbert.)
Stafford also ended any speculation he might retire this season. As he wrapped up his acceptance speech, Stafford said, “I’ll see you guys next year … hopefully, I won’t be at this event and we’ll be getting ready for another game at SoFi [Stadium].”
Rams head coach Sean McVay and running back Kyren Williams celebrated Stafford’s announcement.
Stafford won in the closest MVP vote since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners of the award.
It’s a long time coming for Stafford, and his case is a rare one among MVPs.
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To find the best comparison to Stafford winning his first NFL MVP award at age 37, we probably need to go back to before Super Bowl I. In 1963, Y.A. Tittle finally got his first MVP award from the Associated Press. He was already on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but before his age-37 season he hadn’t won the most prestigious MVP award. Tittle set the NFL record with 36 touchdown passes and got the trophy that had eluded him.
Stafford’s MVP case is rare, considering we need to go back more than 60 years for the proper comparison. Stafford has been consistently good since he was drafted first overall in the 2009 draft, amassing more than 64,000 passing yards and 400 touchdowns. But he had never been recognized as the best quarterback in the NFL until this season.
Stafford isn’t the oldest quarterback to win MVP. That’s Tom Brady. Stafford, Tittle and Rich Gannon are the oldest first-time MVPs, all at age 37. Gannon’s case is different, as he didn’t get a chance to be a full-time starter until he joined the Raiders late in his career. Stafford has always been a preferred starter since he was the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and a good one.
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Stafford just hadn’t been recognized as the best, until he was on the back nine of his career.
Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams won his first MVP award in his 17th NFL season. (Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
(Kara Durrette via Getty Images)Matthew Stafford fought through back injury
In August, the Rams weren’t worried about Stafford winning NFL MVP. They just wanted him to be on the field.
Stafford’s back injury was the biggest topic in the NFL for about a month. He missed practice from the start of training camp until mid-August. For weeks, every update about his health sounded ominous. At Stafford’s age, beginning the season on the field was not a sure thing.
“We’re trying to get our hands around this as well, so I don’t really have much more information other than think we’re trying some different things that are hopefully going to be in alignment with getting him back out on the field,” McVay said on Aug. 14, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.
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And from that uneasy beginning to the season, Stafford played the best ball of his 17-year career.
From Week 4 to Week 11, Stafford opened up his lead in the MVP race by playing nearly perfect football. Over eight games, he threw for 25 touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 118.9. He ended up throwing 28 straight touchdowns without an interception, an NFL record.
Stafford had a couple of subpar performances in losses late in the season but it didn’t matter. He had already built a huge lead, which he needed in the end.
Stafford bucks recent MVP history
Stafford is a bit of an anomaly in recent history. He’s the first quarterback whose team didn’t win its division to take home MVP since 2008. His individual brilliance was enough to overcome the fact that the Rams finished behind the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West championship.
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Maye, whose Patriots won the AFC East, had a great case. He led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also led the NFL at 8.9 yards per attempt, which is an impressive combination. Maye had a fantastic second NFL season, but when Stafford got 31 votes for the first-team All-Pro quarterback and Maye got 18 (the same group of 50 votes for MVP and the All-Pro teams) it was a strong sign that Stafford would be the MVP front-runner.
Stafford already had a Super Bowl ring, is in the top 10 all time in passing yards and touchdowns and had plenty of accolades. No matter when Stafford decides to retire, he’ll do so with at least one MVP award as well. Though it was a very close call.