Rams QB Matthew Stafford beats out Drake Maye to win his first NFL MVP award

SAN FRANCISCO — To find the best comparison to Matthew Stafford winning his first NFL MVP award at age 37, we probably need to go back to before Super Bowl I.

In 1963, Y.A. Tittle finally got his first MVP award from Associated Press. He was already on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but before his age-37 season he hadn’t won the most prestigious MVP award. Tittle set the NFL record with 36 touchdown passes and got the trophy that had eluded him.

Stafford’s MVP case is rare, considering we need to go back more than 60 years for the proper comparison. Stafford has been consistently good since he was drafted first overall in the 2009 draft, amassing more than 64,000 passing yards and 400 touchdowns. But he had never been recognized as the best quarterback in the NFL until this season.

Stafford won his first NFL MVP award, which was announced at the annual NFL Honors show on Thursday, edging out New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Winning an MVP puts him even closer to joining Tittle and many other great quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame.

Stafford isn’t the oldest quarterback to win MVP. That’s Tom Brady. Stafford, Tittle and Rich Gannon are the oldest first-time MVPs, all at age 37. Gannon’s case is different, as he didn’t get a chance to be a full-time starter until he joined the Raiders late in his career. Stafford has always been a preferred starter since he was the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and a good one.

Stafford just hadn’t been recognized as the best, until he was on the back nine of his career.

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Matthew Stafford fought through back injury

In August, the Los Angeles Rams weren’t worried about Stafford winning NFL MVP. They just wanted him to be on the field. 

Stafford’s back injury was the biggest topic in the NFL for about a month. He missed practice from the start of training camp until mid-August. For weeks, every update about his health sounded ominous. At Stafford’s age, beginning the season on the field was not a sure thing.

"We're trying to get our hands around this as well, so I don't really have much more information other than think we're trying some different things that are hopefully going to be in alignment with getting him back out on the field,” Rams coach Sean McVay said on Aug. 14, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.

And from that uneasy beginning to the season, Stafford played the best ball of his 17-year career. 

From Week 4 to Week 11, Stafford opened up his lead in the MVP race by playing nearly perfect football. Over eight games, he threw for 25 touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 118.9. He ended up throwing 28 straight touchdowns without an interception, which was an NFL record.

Stafford had a couple of subpar performances in losses late in the season but it didn’t matter. He had already build up a huge lead.

Stafford bucks recent MVP history

Stafford is a bit of an anomaly in recent history. He’s the first quarterback whose team didn’t win its division to take home MVP since 2008. His individual brilliance was enough to overcome the fact that the Rams finished behind the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West championship.

Maye, whose Patriots won the AFC East, had a great case. He led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also led the NFL at 8.9 yards per attempt, which is an impressive combination. Maye had a fantastic second NFL season, but when Stafford got 31 votes for the first-team All-Pro quarterback and Maye got 18 (the same group of 50 votes for MVP and the All-Pro teams) it was a strong sign that he didn’t do enough to beat out Stafford to win MVP.

There are questions over whether Stafford will return next season or retire. He said shortly after the season that he would take some time to make a decision. Although there are no signs that Stafford will retire, he turns 38 years old on Saturday and retirement will be an annual discussion with him until he decides to step away.

Stafford already had a Super Bowl ring, is in the top 10 all time in passing yards and touchdowns and had plenty of accolades. No matter when Stafford decides to retire, he’ll do so with at least one MVP award as well.