It’s not often that we’re able to find a professional quarterback who is capable of throwing for 5,000+ passing yards in a single season, and it’s even less often that those quarterbacks receive a regular-season MVP award. In fact, of the nine signal callers who have reached the 5K single-season milestone, only four of them have won the award, but here with Matthew Stafford, we now have a chance to see it happen for a fifth time.
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The star quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams led the NFL this year in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and even first down passes, guiding the Rams to their fourth playoff appearance in the last five years while further cementing himself as one of the best quarterbacks of this generation. Although that still may not be enough to outdo the season that Drake Maye has put together.
The sophomore sensation for the New England Patriots, along with his new head coach, Mike Vrabel, took the league by storm this year, winning 14 regular-season games and scoring the second-most points of any team in the NFL. It’s been enough to draw some way-too-early Tom Brady comparisons for Maye, but from a historical standpoint, it is still the Rams QB who appears to be chasing the G.O.A.T. right now.
Should Stafford manage to claim this year’s MVP award, his career would become more in line with the likes of Brady and Peyton Manning, who both managed to win the award at the age of 37. It’s also worth mentioning that both of those campaigns ended with Brady and Manning being named as the Super Bowl MVPs as well, which is likely something that is at the forefront of Stafford’s mind right now.
Thankfully, the seven-time champion appears to have given him a ringing endorsement ahead of this year’s vote, as during his latest broadcast with Fox Sports, Brady took the time to explain why he’s siding with Stafford over the now-presumed heir to his throne.
“I love Drake Maye and what he’s done in his second year,” he prefaced. “But I just see Matthew Stafford as a Hall of Fame-level quarterback that has played his best season of football.”
It’s unlikely that Brady’s segment will have much influence over this year’s MVP voters, but it still has to feel good for Stafford knowing that the oldest MVP winner in the history of the sport has recognized you. Between the concerns over his back issues and his age, there’s no guarantee that Stafford will even be playing at the age of 40, and if this does end up being his final season, which some have speculated, then it would be incredibly fitting for him to leave with his first and only MVP award.
Nevertheless, neither the gridiron nor a body of MVP voters cares about your feelings, so if Stafford wants the hardware to come along with his praise, then he’ll have to put together a more convincing case throughout the next month. Otherwise, he may just end up being remembered the same way as Drew Brees, an all-time great who never received the trophies to match his success.
