Matthew Stafford Caps Career Year with First MVP, Etches Name in NFL History
ATHENS, Ga. - Seventeen seasons into his NFL journey, Matthew Stafford just delivered the kind of year that quarterbacks dream about and defenses dread. The Los Angeles Rams signal-caller has been named the 2025 AP NFL Most Valuable Player, a long-awaited honor that puts an exclamation point on a historic season - and a career that’s quietly been building toward this moment.
Stafford becomes just the third former Georgia Bulldog to win the league’s top individual honor, joining Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (1975) and Super Bowl champion Terrell Davis (1998). For a quarterback who’s long been respected for his arm talent and toughness, this MVP nod is more than just a trophy - it’s validation.
And make no mistake, Stafford earned every bit of it.
He led the NFL with 46 touchdown passes, a personal best that also topped the league leaderboard. His 4,707 passing yards?
Also No. 1 in the league. Those aren’t just big numbers - they’re MVP-caliber stats in a league that’s never been more quarterback-driven.
Stafford didn't just manage games; he dictated them.
But it wasn’t just about piling up stats. Stafford came through when it mattered most.
He guided the Rams to the NFC Championship Game, orchestrating two clutch, game-winning drives in the earlier playoff rounds. That gave him five career game-winning drives in the postseason - the most among active quarterbacks.
It’s the kind of late-game poise you can’t teach, and it’s a major reason why the Rams made a deep playoff push.
This season was also one of milestones. Stafford broke into the NFL’s top 10 all-time in both passing yards and passing touchdowns - two of the most hallowed categories for any quarterback. He surpassed 60,000 career passing yards and reached the 400-touchdown mark, joining an elite club that includes the likes of Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady.
Speaking of Brady, Stafford also took down one of his records. Stafford set a new NFL mark for the most consecutive touchdown passes without an interception - 28 in a row - breaking a 15-year-old record held by the GOAT himself.
That stat speaks volumes about Stafford’s decision-making and precision this season. He wasn’t just aggressive - he was surgical.
This was also the first time Stafford earned First-Team All-Pro honors, and he made his third career Pro Bowl. For a player who’s often flown under the radar in MVP conversations, this season was a loud, undeniable statement: Matthew Stafford is one of the game’s greats.
Before he was lighting up NFL defenses, Stafford was slinging it between the hedges in Athens. From 2006 to 2008, he quarterbacked the Georgia Bulldogs to a 27-7 record, throwing for nearly 8,000 yards and over 50 touchdowns.
He was named to the 2006 All-SEC Freshman Team and went 3-0 in bowl games, including a dominant win over No. 10 Hawaii in the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
Now, nearly two decades after arriving on campus in Athens, Stafford has climbed to the pinnacle of pro football. MVP.
All-Pro. Playoff hero.
Record-breaker.
Matthew Stafford’s 2025 season wasn’t just the best of his career - it was one for the ages.