Matthew Stafford’s case to win the 2025 NFL MVP award took a big blow on Monday night, when he struggled in the Rams’ 27–24 loss to the Falcons. It was Stafford’s worst game of the season as he threw three interceptions, including a pick-six.
His dismal display opened the door for Patriots star Drake Maye to take the lead in the MVP race––at least as far as betting odds go. But not everyone is buying Maye’s stock ahead of the final week of the regular season.
During a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said that he believes the MVP still belongs to Stafford.
“If I was voting today, I would vote for Stafford,” said Orlovsky. “For everyone that continues to point stats at me... You can’t in one hand talk about the stats and then in other conversations say, ‘well, who he did it against doesn’t matter.’ Yes it does. How you acquire the stats, and who you acquire those stats against, has to be part of the conversation. It doesn’t mean we have to knock people for it, but it has to provide context in how those stats were acquired.
“If you took a quarterback and you played him against Seattle’s defense on a consistent basis, and you took a quarterback and played him against the Jets’ defense on a consistent basis. One quarterback is going to have better stats, because of that defense he’s playing against.”
"If I was voting for MVP today I would vote for Matthew Stafford..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 30, 2025
How you acquire the stats and who you acquire those stats against has to a be part of the conversation" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive https://t.co/QG3Ky82kdn pic.twitter.com/TuEtYwIefF
Maye has benefitted from having an easier schedule than Stafford has, something Orlovsky has taken in to account when considering the award race. Maye and the Patriots have had the easiest schedule in the NFL, whereas the Rams have the sixth most-difficult strength of schedule.
Even after Stafford’s three picks against Atlanta, he and Maye are deadlocked with eight interceptions, while the former has the upper hand in total touchdowns (42) and passing yards (4,448).
Heading into Monday night, Stafford was the favorite to win the MVP, but now things have leaned in favor of Maye, who enjoyed a five-touchdown performance in a steamrolling of the lowly Jets, the very defense Orlovsky referenced in his argument.
Arguments can certainly be made for either player, and with one week to play, there’s still an opportunity for both players to put on an MVP worthy display before the postseason. If the season ended today, Orlovsky made clear he’d still lean Stafford in what will be another narrow MVP race.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Orlovsky Explains Why He Still Thinks Matthew Stafford Is NFL MVP Over Drake Maye.
