There is a back and forth in the 2025 NFL MVP conversation with two legit candidates playing tug-o-war for the award. The quarterback dominated trophy has a couple of truly deserving players but only one can bring home the award at the NFL honors event. The voting is completed at the end of the regular season and as a reminder, the playoffs are not included in the final consideration for the award. Let’s dive into the top three candidates and I’ll give my prediction for the winner.
Matthew Stafford: Los Angeles Rams
Betting Favorite (-215)
Stafford went from maybe not playing this season during training camp to knocking on the door for his first MVP award. The Rams QB might be 37, but he’s never played the position better than he is right now. He leads the NFL in passing yards (4,179) and touchdowns (40). He has thrown just 5 interceptions and has the fourth best QBR in the league. Stafford has been helped by the addition of Davante Adams who is also having a resurgent season and third-year receiver Puka Nacua is putting up monster numbers. The Rams are fighting for the 1-seed in the NFC and his team’s success will go a long way towards making him the favorite for the award. While it could come down to the next two weeks, Stafford would need two bad games to let this slip away.
Drake Maye: New England Patriots
2nd Favorite (+185)
Tom Brady, who? Okay, that’s a huge reach but Drake Maye has given Patriots fans hope and belief that the future is bright. Drake Maye is becoming somewhat of a folk lore in New England because of his breakout second season with the Patriots. They have already clinched a playoff spot and are now just a win away from wrapping up another division title, their first since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season. Maye has done just about everything Mike Vrabel could have asked of him. He has the best QBR (73.4) in the league, he is top four in passing yards (3,947) and is also showing that he is mobile. He has rushed for 387 yards and added 4 scores on the ground. Maye has been excellent for the Pats and doesn’t show many signs of slowing down.
Josh Allen: Buffalo Bills
3rd Favorite (+2500)
It’s crazy to think that Josh Allen has been all but ruled out for this award considering he is still having quite the season. Allen won the award last year and did so with just 300 more passing yards and three more passing touchdowns, which he can still surpass with two games to play this season. On top of that, Allen has nearly identical rushing stats as a year ago. However, the competition is just staunch this time around and the Bills aren’t the first-place team that they were last year. Allen would probably have a good enough resume most other years to be a front runner but not this time around.
Prediction
It’s Stafford’s trophy to lose and I think he has more than earned it. It would be his first and another box checked on his Hall of Fame resume.