Patriots Drake Maye loses MVP award to Matthew Stafford

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Patriots Drake Maye loses MVP award to Matthew Stafford

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Fri, Feb 6, 2026 ·

3 min read

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SAN FRANCISCO – Drake Maye's remarkable second NFL season will end in the Super Bowl, but it won't be as the league's MVP.

On Thursday night, Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford won the 2025 AP NFL MVP award. The 37-year-old led the league in passing yards (4,707) and passing touchdowns (46). Stafford earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors this season before winning the biggest award in the NFL.

Stafford beat out four finalists, including Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen , Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence , San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey , and Maye.

Entering the playoffs, the debate over who should win the MVP came down to Stafford and Maye. The voting total was close, with Stafford narrowly edging Maye (366 to 361) by five points.

The Patriots quarterback led the NFL with a 113.5 passer rating and a 72% completion percentage but trailed Stafford in passing yards (4,394) and passing touchdowns (31).

Maye started this NFL season as the second-youngest starting quarterback in the NFL. He finished the year with one of the most impressive performances in league history for someone who's 23.

On Sunday, Maye joins Ben Roethlisberger (2025) and Dan Marino (1984) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to start a Super Bowl before their 24th birthday. This postseason, Maye became the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win his first three career playoff starts. He joined Tom Brady , Joe Burrow and Jake Delhomme.

During this playoff run, Maye became the first quarterback in NFL history to win three games against top-5 defenses in a single postseason run - Los Angeles (No.5), Houston (No. 1) and Denver (No. 2)

This season, Maye became the most accurate quarterback in Patriots history. His 72.0 completion percentage set a franchise record. It was also the sixth-best in NFL history, trailing Drew Brees (2007, 2017 and 2019), Tua Tagovailoa (2024) and Jared Goff (2024).

He also finished 2025 with 13 games with a pass rating of 100.0 or better. That set a new Patriots record and tied Patrick Mahomes ' NFL record set in 2018.

The No. 3 overall pick in 2024 also became the eighth quarterback in NFL history to finish a season with a 70 or better completion percentage, at least 4,000 passing yards and at least 30 touchdown passes.

In the end, the 50 MVP voters opted to give the award to Stafford.

This season, Maye said he had bigger things in mind than personal recognition.

"The MVP is obviously one of the big accolades," Maye said in December. "It's an honor as a player to earn that award. And I respect all the past MVPs. But at the end of the day, winning the Super Bowl is the biggest thing.

"What makes this league go is winning the big one. That's what this team is about. I love winning. Personal accolades come with all that. I'd rather win than get personal awards."

He'll have his chance on Sunday.

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