In 10 days, the Los Angeles Rams lost the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the NFC West crown, a top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and most likely, 37-year-old Matthew Stafford’s best chance at ever winning the MVP.
In what has been a calamity of a week and a half for the former frontrunners for the Super Bowl, everything has gone sideways for the Los Angeles Rams since going up 16 on the Seattle Seahawks on the road on Thursday Night Football.
Advertisement
After playing it safe with their offense in an attempt to bleed the fourth-quarter clock and all but wrap up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Rams have unraveled as a team. From horrible special team mistakes to costly penalties, injuries in the trenches, and unforced mistakes Stafford hadn’t made all season long, the once-behemoth Rams need to find themselves before heading on the road to open the postseason.
Stafford, even after the Seahawks’ defeat, was the odds-on favorite to win the MVP, but that all changed on Monday night in Atlanta. After three interceptions, including a pick-six, and a loss to a 6-9 Falcons team already out of the postseason, the award now seemingly belongs to Drake Maye and the AFC East-winning New England Patriots.
It is a gut punch to a veteran who had put together the best season of his career up until Monday’s disaster, falling behind 21-0 at the half before storming back with an almost comeback that came up just short in the end.
While Sean McVay announced that Stafford and the starters will play in Week 18 at home against the Arizona Cardinals in a move to go into the playoffs with some confidence, no result seems likely to turn the narrative tide in the MVP race.
Advertisement
Even if Maye doesn’t play the final game of the season, Stafford’s three-interception game in primetime will most likely be the lingering final image voters have before casting their vote. That is in stark contrast to Maye, who threw for five touchdowns and zero interceptions in a masterclass against the New York Jets before sitting for a majority of the second half.
Stafford will be a finalist for the MVP and finish the highest in voting he has ever in his illustrious, almost two-decade career, but it could have been so much more.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Los Angeles Rams Matthew Stafford Lost the NFL MVP vs Falcons
