Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye made NFL history in the worst way this week
Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye made NFL history in the worst way this week
Cameron DaSilva, Rams WireFri, September 11, 2026 at 2:58 PM UTC
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Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye were the only two legitimate candidates for NFL MVP last season, finishing first and second in the voting. They received 47 of the 50 possible first-place votes, with Stafford barely edging out Maye by one vote, 24-23.
It was as close as an award vote can get, but there’s no doubt the right candidate won.
Unfortunately for both players, the 2026 season did not start the way they hoped. Maye threw three interceptions in the Patriots’ 13-10 loss to the Seahawks on Wednesday night, crumbling in the fourth quarter to blow the lead.
Stafford played slightly better, but he completed just 15 of 25 passes for 155 yards and one interception in the Rams’ 27-7 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night.
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According to OptaSTATS, it’s the first time in NFL history that the top two finishers in the previous year’s MVP race each failed to score more than 10 points in the season opener.
Neither Stafford nor Maye looked like an MVP candidate in Week 1, but there are 16 games still to go. Every quarterback has a bad game at some point. It's just that theirs came in the season opener.
Stafford will try to bounce back against the Giants in Week 2, while Maye and the Patriots have the Steelers on deck next Sunday afternoon.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye made NFL history in the worst way this week
Source: “AOL Sports”
