The Closeness of Rams Matthew Stafford's MVP Win Was Foolish

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams were in attendance at the NFL Honors to see quarterback Matthew Stafford win the AP MVP award by just one vote, beating out AFC Champion New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in a record slim margin.

The win caused immense debate and while some argued Maye deserved to win, there was always a question on if Maye's value could translate to success against top defenses, something Stafford proved he could pull off. On Sunday night, during Super Bowl LX, we found out answer. The margin of victory was foolish and the voters almost robbed Stafford of one of the most deserved MVPs in NFL history.

The Foolishness of the Margins

Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images | Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Lets put aside the fact that Stafford threw for 15 more touchdowns than Maye and had 10 more total touchdowns or the fact that Stafford got the job done against better defenses while Maye habitually struggled against the better defenses that he faced, there was only one argument that weighed in Maye's favor.

Maye's Only Argument

Common opponents. It is a fact that Maye did do better than Stafford against common opponents but here's the other fact...common opponents are not common situations and while Maye benefitted from a schedule that rarely took him out of his time zone, Stafford was playing against the fatigue of travel.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) exits the field after the loss against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Even then, the argument does not work for Maye because Stafford ended up playing four of the top nine scoring defenses in the NFL, putting up better number than Maye, who faced zero in the regular season.

On top of that, if people want to be nitpicking, Maye lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, who own the number one draft pick. While I don't consider QB wins to be an actual stat, it details a continued inefficiency in odd situations, which is something Stafford did not have all season...except maybe in Atlanta. No matter what, you can't exclude data to craft an argument.

Super Bowl LX Reveals the Truth

Put all that aside. If Maye won the MVP and did what he did on Sunday night, the award would lose all credibility. Against the same defense, two weeks apart, Stafford ripped them apart while Maye struggled to get a first down.

It wasn't all Maye's fault as Will Campbell and the offensive line got beat all night and Seattle's secondary was unreal but an MVP needs to find a way to get first downs/ points in the biggest game of the season to justify winning the award over the guy who put up jaw-dropping numbers in opposing territory and a drought that lasted as long as it did for Maye.

So either common opponents is an arguement and Maye's Super Bowl performance justifies Stafford's MVP by miles or it's not an argument and Maye has no argument for MVP. Either way, a one vote difference is a joke.

Maye is a talented player who will win an MVP but let's be realistic about the game that we speak about.

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