The New England Patriots walked into the 15th annual NFL Honors and walked out with two of the night’s biggest coaching accolades - a strong testament to the franchise’s resurgence. Mike Vrabel earned Coach of the Year, while Josh McDaniels took home Assistant Coach of the Year, highlighting a season where the Patriots not only exceeded expectations but reestablished a culture of discipline, innovation, and grit.
But while the coaching staff got their flowers, the spotlight nearly belonged to quarterback Drake Maye - and we do mean nearly. The second-year signal caller was a finalist for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, and the vote was about as razor-thin as it gets. Maye finished just five points shy of the honor, losing out to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford in what turned out to be the tightest MVP race in over two decades.
Here’s how close it was: Stafford ended with 366 points and 24 first-place votes. Maye?
361 points and 23 first-place votes. That’s it.
One vote - literally a single first-place nod - would’ve flipped the script and handed Maye the MVP. Instead, the remaining three first-place votes went to Josh Allen (2) and Justin Herbert (1), nudging Stafford just far enough ahead to secure the trophy.
To put it in context, MVP voting uses a weighted point system: 10 points for a first-place vote, followed by 5, 3, 2, and 1 for second through fifth. So when it came down to the math, one voter shifting their top pick from Allen or Herbert to Maye would have swung the final tally in his favor. That’s how close we were to seeing a Patriots quarterback - in just his second year - claim the league’s highest individual honor.
This was the closest MVP race since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair ended in a dead heat and shared the award. That’s the kind of company Maye is now keeping - and it speaks volumes about the season he just had.
Still, if you ask him, Maye probably isn’t losing sleep over it. The Patriots are prepping for the biggest game of the year - a Super Bowl showdown with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
For Maye, the MVP might’ve slipped away, but the chance to lead New England back to championship glory? That’s the prize he’s got in his sights.
And with Vrabel’s leadership, McDaniels’ play-calling, and a quarterback who came within inches of being named the league’s most valuable player, the Patriots aren’t just back - they’re built to contend.