Matthew Stafford Edges Drake Maye to Claim 2025 NFL MVP in Razor-Thin Vote
After a season that reminded everyone just how dangerous a pocket passer can be, Matthew Stafford has earned the NFL’s most prestigious individual honor: the Associated Press MVP award. The Rams quarterback put together a 2025 campaign built on precision, poise, and a relentless arm, outpacing a field that included both rising stars and perennial contenders.
Stafford secured the award with 366 total points and 24 first-place votes-just barely edging out New England Patriots rookie Drake Maye, who finished with 361 points and 23 first-place nods. That five-point margin? It’s one of the tightest MVP races in recent memory.
While Stafford doesn’t bring the same dual-threat electricity we’ve seen from recent MVPs like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Patrick Mahomes, what he delivered this season was nothing short of elite quarterbacking. He operated with near-surgical efficiency from the pocket, dissecting defenses with a level of control that’s become increasingly rare in today’s more mobile QB era. This wasn’t flash-it was fundamentals at their finest, and it powered the Rams all season long.
As for Maye, his second-place finish should be viewed as nothing short of remarkable. The rookie quarterback not only led a resurgent Patriots squad but did so with a maturity and command that belied his age.
To come within a single first-place vote of the league’s top honor in your debut season? That’s the kind of performance that turns heads across the league and sets the tone for a potentially dominant career.
The rest of the MVP field wasn’t nearly as close. Last year’s winner, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, finished a distant third with 91 points and just two first-place votes. Only one other player-Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert-received a first-place vote, making it clear that this year’s MVP race was a two-man showdown from start to finish.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. With only 50 first-place votes to go around, the margins were razor-thin.
Had Allen’s two top votes gone to Maye instead, the rookie would’ve leapfrogged Stafford by a single point. Even the lone Herbert vote, if redirected, could’ve swung the outcome-or created a deadlock at 25 first-place votes apiece.
Of course, we’ll never know how those voters would’ve cast their ballots if Allen and Herbert weren’t in the picture. But it does underscore just how fine the line was between Stafford and Maye. In a season where both quarterbacks delivered MVP-caliber performances, a handful of ballots decided it all.
In the end, Stafford walks away with the hardware-and rightfully so. He reminded us that even in an era dominated by dual-threat dynamism, there’s still room for the classic quarterback archetype to shine. This MVP race may have been as close as they come, but Stafford’s season left no doubt: he earned it.