NFL’s 2025 Stat Leaders: Matthew Stafford’s Numbers Don’t Lie

The Rams dominated the stat sheet this season, with three Los Angeles players leading their respective statistical categories. Plus, Myles Garrett’s historic campaign, Kevin Byard III’s renaissance and more.

Matthew Stafford led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, making him a favorite to win MVP. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

There was some skepticism about the Rams signing wide receiver Davante Adams to a two-year, $44 million contract for multiple reasons, one being that he was on the wrong side of 30. 

The 33-year-old Adams was coming off a few rough seasons with losing teams and was viewed as a problem with the Raiders because his quarterbacks weren’t giving him the ball as frequently as he would have liked. But the Rams noticed that Adams still had plenty to offer when he reunited with Aaron Rodgers last year after the Raiders traded him to the Jets.

Now it’s become clear that the Raiders and their subpar quarterbacks were more of the problem because Adams’s presence helped the Rams’ offense reach a new level in 2025. Matthew Stafford is a frontrunner for MVP, and Puka Nacua had a monster season playing next to Adams. 

The Rams, who averaged a league-high 30.5 points per game, are hoping Adams makes it back in time for the postseason after missing the past three games with a hamstring injury.

I usually don’t get these stat leader predictions right, but I’ll pat myself on the back for calling Adams the best free-agent signing of the offseason back in March. 

Let’s now review the stat leaders for the 2025 NFL regular season. 

Passing yards: Matthew Stafford, Rams (4,707)

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Stafford delivered the best season of his career in Year 17. The 37-year-old signal-caller was atop most passing statistics, including averaging 276.9 passing yards per game. This was the fifth time in his illustrious career that he ended a season with more than 4,600 passing yards. Stafford racked up a good chunk of his passing yards when he recorded a season-high 457 yards against the Seahawks in Week 16. 

Passing TDs: Stafford (46) 

Stafford stumbled a bit down the stretch in his campaign for MVP after the Rams split their final six games of the regular season. But the fact that he led the league in touchdown passes by a wide margin (Jared Goff was second with 34) could help him win the prestigious award. It’s quite impressive that Stafford only threw eight interceptions, given how often he pushed the ball downfield in 2025. 

Rushing yards: James Cook, Bills (1,621)

Cook started the season with a four-year, $48 million contract extension. He quickly earned his pay raise by averaging a league-high 95.4 rushing yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry, tied for second among players with at least 230 carries this season. Cook went over 100 rushing yards in nine games, including 216 yards vs. the Panthers in Week 8.

Rushing TDs: Jonathan Taylor, Colts (18)

It’s a bit surprising that Taylor didn’t win the rushing title with how dominant he was in the first 10 games of the season when the Colts started 8–2. He finished the year with 1,585 yards. It hurt Taylor that the team became one-dimensional after quarterback Daniel Jones sustained a season-ending injury. However, Taylor did enough before the wheels fell off in Indianapolis—the team lost its final seven regular-season games—to win this statistical category. Taylor had four games with at least three rushing touchdowns. He also added two receiving scores to end the year with 20 total touchdowns. 

Puka Nacua had a dominant season, helping the Rams to a 12–5 record. / Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Receptions: Puka Nacua, Rams (129)

Nacua would have had a strong chance at capturing the receiving triple crown if hadn’t missed one game due to injury. Still, it’s impressive that the third-year star receiver had the most receptions, considering that Cardinals tight end Trey McBride had 126 and played a full season. Nacua, who also had 1,715 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns, had six games with at least 10 catches.   

Receiving yards: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks (1,793)

Smith-Njigba could very well be the Offensive Player of the Year with how dominant he was in his third NFL season. He had at least 100 receiving yards in nine games this year, including four consecutive games of going over 120 yards. There was no stopping Smith-Njigba in 2025, and his presence helped the Seahawks win 14 games and clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Receiving TDs: Davante Adams, Rams (14)

Adams could have topped the 18 receiving touchdowns he had in 2020 if he hadn’t missed the final three games of the regular season due to a hamstring injury. But Adams proved in his 12th NFL season that he still has plenty to offer on the field, especially as a red zone threat. It was the third time in his illustrious career that he had at least 14 receiving touchdowns in a season. His 117 career receiving touchdowns rank seventh in NFL history. 

Scoring: Jason Myers, Seahawks (171) 

Myers was a kicking machine in 2025. He made 41 field goals and had a league-high 48 attempts. Additionally, Myers went a perfect 6-of-6 in the 18–16 victory over the Colts in Week 15, which set a franchise record for most made field goals in a game. In that same game, Myers drilled a game-winning 56-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in regulation.

Sacks: Myles Garrett, Browns (23)

Garrett set the single-season sack record during the Browns’ regular-season finale victory against the Bengals. At one point, it seemed Garrett was going to shatter the record when he had 21.5 sacks heading into the final three games of the season. He had at least one sack in eight consecutive games and had five sacks alone against the Patriots in Week 8. Garrett has had at least 14 sacks in five consecutive seasons. 

Interceptions: Kevin Byard III, Bears (7)

At 32, Byard had a career renaissance in his second season with the Bears. It seemed his best days were behind him after the Titans traded him to the Eagles two seasons ago. But the two-time first-team All-Pro has been a ball hawk for the Bears, thriving under the guidance of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Byard, who has 36 career interceptions, recorded more than one interception in a season for the first time since 2022. He had eight picks back in ’17. 

Total tackles: Jordyn Brooks, Dolphins (183)

It was a rough season for the Dolphins, but they at least received stellar play from their middle linebacker, who also had a league-high 99 solo tackles. Brooks has found a home in Miami, recording at least 143 total tackles the past two seasons. The former Seahawk has had five consecutive seasons of at least 100 total tackles.

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