Drake Maye finally learns his NFL award fate
One of the most hotly debated MVP races in recent memory has finally been decided between Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford.
An impossibly tight race for the NFL's top individual player award has finally been decided: Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford beat out the Patriots' Drake Maye to win his first NFL MVP award during the "NFL Honors" ceremony Thursday night in San Francisco.
The voting results quickly came out, via Rob Maaddi. And the race was indeed as close as it seemed: Stafford won out with 366 total points, with 24 first-place votes, while Maye earned 361 points with 23 first-place votes. Bills quarterback Josh Allen (91 points) finished third and received two first-place votes, while Chargers QB Justin Herbert earned the last remaining first-place vote.
Coming up just short in one of the most hotly debated MVP races in recent memory, Maye lost the MVP to Stafford despite enjoying a breakout campaign in his first full season as the Patriots' starting quarterback. Maye led the league with a 113.5 passer rating and 72.0 completion percentage, while tossing 31 touchdowns against only eight interceptions. He emerged as an elite deep ball passer, leading the league with a 132.7 passer rating on pass attempts of 20-plus yards (via Pro Football Focus).
Stafford, meanwhile, led the NFL with a career-high 46 touchdown passes and 4,707 passing yards, and also earned First Team All-Pro honors. Stafford is now sixth all-time in career passing yards (64,516) and seventh all-time in career passing touchdowns (423). He would almost certainly continue to climb those lists, if he decided to keep playing. Between his prolific numbers, a Super Bowl championship, and now MVP and All-Pro awards to his credit, Stafford will have a strong case to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame once he hits the ballot.
Maye has a long way to go toward matching Stafford's accolades. But despite coming up short in the MVP race, Maye has a chance to win his first Super Bowl championship on Sunday against the Seahawks. He no doubt has a bright future ahead of him, quite possibly with Lombardi Trophies, MVPs, and All-Pros coming along the way.
Maye was also a finalist for AP Offensive Player of the Year, but lost out to Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught 119 passes for a league-high 1,793 yards with 10 touchdown catches.
