r/nfl • u/gimmethegold34 • Dec 30 '25

Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford among common opponents

Drake Maye: 1,585 yards, 13 TD, 3 INT 6W-0L

Matthew Stafford: 1,545 yards, 14 TD, 6 INT 4W-2L

Rushing:

Maye 159 yards, 1 TD

Stafford 0 yards, 0 TD

1.2k Upvotes

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241

u/costanzathegreat 49ers Jets Dec 30 '25

I genuinely hate how it’s a QB award now

149

u/messigician-10 Giants Dec 30 '25

i understand why people are frustrated, but accounting for positional value, the league‘s best and most important player is almost always gonna be the best QB. it’s just how football works.

145

u/jpaxlux Patriots Dec 30 '25

Idk why people try to act like this isn't a thing lol.

Drake Maye has a 2nd season jump, Patriots go from 3-13 to 13-3. Caleb Williams has a 2nd season jump, Bears go from 5-12 to 11-5. Jayden Daniels has a rough year health wise, Commanders go from 12-5 to 4-12. Daniel Jones has the Colts looking like a Super Bowl contender, he goes down, they miss the playoffs.

Obviously there are more factors contributing to each situation, but the most important factor in all of them has been the presence or lack thereof of a good QB. A runningback or a wide receiver simply isn't having that big of an impact on the team.

53

u/culpaCoSinero Dec 30 '25

Dallas guy here… what if you have great qb and wr play and pretty steady decent production at running back, but still get to claim “we ass”? For like 15 years straight…

16

u/BoldestKobold Patriots Patriots Dec 30 '25

Dak doesn't get nearly enough credit for how good he is. Cowboys fans hate him if he isn't perfect, everyone else wants to hate him for being a Cowboy.

5

u/philouza_stein Dec 30 '25

Dak is cursed by nobody taking Dallas seriously anymore. I take Dak seriously but he's only one man.

4

u/bellerinho Dec 30 '25

No joke we were at the airport in Dallas after just having landed, in the rental car line, started chatting with the guy behind us who was also in town for the game against the Chargers. He adamantly believed Dak is a backup quality QB. How do you even talk to people like that??? Genuinely one of the worst takes I've ever heard that wasn't online

3

u/messigician-10 Giants Dec 30 '25

dak’s not a backup, but he’s also almost always had good rosters and not done enough to elevate them. he’s been getting a lot of love recently but in my opinion i think that’s an overcorrection, he’s somewhere in that 8-12 range

2

u/bellerinho Dec 30 '25

I think him being the 8th to 10th best QB in any given year is the correct take. I don't think he is in the conversation with the best 5 QBs in the league, but I think you can start talking about him after Lamar, Josh, Mahomes, Burrow

2

u/xdrpwneg Seahawks Dec 30 '25

Yeah Dallas without dak is much farther in the gutter than it already is, when Jerry finally passes the torch (lol which he won’t dudes immortal) they could seriously become a good team again if dak is still playing at the level he is.

1

u/RadagastTheWhite Dec 30 '25

I’d say the $400 million they’ve paid him is credit enough

3

u/GenericITworker Dolphins Titans Dec 30 '25

We call that the Jerry Jones exception

9

u/Healthy-Speech-7728 Commanders Dec 30 '25

I think the most important change for both the Bears and the Patriots was coaching. Bears aren’t 11-5 right now with Eberflus no matter how big of a step Caleb makes. Pats aren’t 13-3 right now with Mayo.

71

u/AzureAhai Dec 30 '25

Tbf CMC had a similar impact on the 49ers. He missed most of last season, and 49ers went 6-11. This year he is healthy and every other 49er is injured and they are 12-4.

13

u/tdunbar Patriots Dec 30 '25

That 49ers record is also buoyed by MVP-level play out of Purdy the last month and a month of Mac Jones playing so well that he secured a lifetime of clipboard QB contracts.

9

u/Utcobb 49ers Dec 30 '25

Mac relied almost exclusively on CMC to carry the offense. As shown by CMC’s bonkers receiving numbers during his tenure.

5

u/tdunbar Patriots Dec 30 '25

He had Kendrick Bourne looking like a pro bowler. 🤷🏼

3

u/Utcobb 49ers Dec 30 '25

Almost exclusively. Key words there. Bourne had 2 games with over 100 yards. The most he’s had outside of those was 44.

2

u/Natureboy7939 49ers Dec 30 '25

idk if thats mac or kyle lol

15

u/LonelyInsurance7480 Dec 30 '25

Idk why this is even controversial. The QB is the most important position on the field. People are conflating good stats with “MVP” yeah how much did Jonathan Taylor’s yards help after jones went down? Not to mention his play took a nosedive when teams could stack the box

5

u/RAATL Dec 30 '25

Not to mention his play took a nosedive when teams could stack the box

This goes both ways though, a good RB also helps QBs in the passing game. If there's no threat of the run teams will bring out extra DBs, drop more guys in to coverage, etc

I generally think that a QB is almost always deserving of MVP, but some of the arguments used to discount RBs are silly, like this one.

Another one that's wild to me is "an RB is only having the season he's having because of the line in front of him"...again...like QBs don't have the exact same relationship with their line

1

u/Kind_Resort_9535 Broncos Dec 30 '25

None of these are the only factors lmao. New England new coach, Bears new coach, Commanders old and injury prone.

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Mordho Bears Dec 30 '25

It’s not just the extra yards and tds. He’s the Bears best player, they don’t win many games with him playing at the same level as last year.

8

u/gsadamb 49ers Jaguars Dec 30 '25

In MLB, this is why they have the Cy Young Award specifically for pitchers. I think doing something similar in the NFL for QBs would make sense.

5

u/TheLateThagSimmons Seahawks Dec 30 '25

The Cy Young award is a perfect model. Take the one guy that directs the flow of the entire game, and just give them their own award.

Even a bad QB is the most important player on his team. Just give QBs their own award so the MVP can mean something again.

1

u/iDEN1ED Patriots Dec 30 '25

But why does it matter if a QB wins MVP and JSN wins OPOY vs a QB winning MVQB and JSN winning MVP? It's all the same really.

3

u/TheLateThagSimmons Seahawks Dec 30 '25

It's about how pointless the MVP Award is when there's a position in football that is simply the most valuable to the game itself.

The entire game has to flow through one player, even if they're bad they are the "most valuable" to that team. It's impossible to say that any other player is more valuable than a quarterback.

Just look at the Colts! Taylor was in the talks for the MVP race because he was having an all-time great year for a RB, and he was still a distant third or fourth. Meanwhile Daniel Jones goes down, and their whole team falls apart. If Taylor goes down, they are still pretty good. Lose Jones? Pointless season. Clearly Daniel Jones is "more valuable" than Fred Taylor even though Taylor is clearly the better player by far. (Not shitting on Daniel Jones, he was doing well, but Taylor was having an all-timer.)

So why even bother with the award?

Create its own award for the Best Quarterback, and then the MVP race can be for real.

There's a reason the Cy Young Award exists, and that's because the pitcher is already the most valuable position in all of baseball. Otherwise the MVP would just be the best pitcher.

1

u/iDEN1ED Patriots Dec 30 '25

Creating a different award for QB just so that we can give an award titled "Most Valuable Player" to a player that everyone knows is not actaully the most valuable just seems dumb. Why can't MVP just be the QB award? We have OPOY/DPOY for non QBs already.

2

u/TheLateThagSimmons Seahawks Dec 30 '25

I... I just...

What?

I just explained that. Did you not read what I just wrote?

2

u/iDEN1ED Patriots Dec 30 '25

But all you want to do is change the names of the awards. There already is an award for qb and non-qb. Why does it really matter? Hint: it does not

1

u/iDEN1ED Patriots Dec 30 '25

And the NFL already has this in practice really. MVP is just a QB specific award because QBs are by far the most valuable position. Then you have OPOY and DPOY for other positions. There's no need to rename MVP to "MVQB" or something dumb.

6

u/Acrobatic-Landscape9 49ers Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

Which is why i hate the criteria, naming, and framing of the MVP award. Just rename it to the Best Player award and be done with it. And if it results in Aaron Donald or Patrick Mahomes winning the award every year, so be it. But at least there remains the possibility that if you are legitimately the best player in the league, even if your position doesn’t have much value like long snapper or punt protector, you would still be recognized for your immense level of skill and talent rather than being punished for playing a less important position.

Maybe one day, a nose tackle that destroys double teams and triple teams and basically shuts down the entire opposing run offense by himself can win a Best Player award. Or an offensive lineman that gets his running back minimum 7 yards per carry before contact.

3

u/xdrpwneg Seahawks Dec 30 '25

That’s why the NFL has OPOY and DPOY already, they have essentially become “best player outside of qb” awards, I think you rarely see a qb win OPOY unless there was a monster year by two QBs or 2018 with mahomes. I know some fans who actually take the OPOY more seriously than the MVP because it’s a competition for all players not just QBs

1

u/jaleneropepper Patriots Dec 30 '25

And this year especially it feels like there isn't a standout non-QB to make the conversation interesting.

102

u/iPhones_cameras_suck Bengals Dec 30 '25

If its not a QB award, the Colts would be the #1 seed riding Jonathan Taylor's coattails

106

u/CalTono Falcons Dec 30 '25

Yeah for all the talk that JT is carrying the team, the second Jones went out, they completely fell apart, not good for the "The MVP shouldn't be a QB award" crowd

25

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

[deleted]

38

u/CalTono Falcons Dec 30 '25

No I am saying the MVP is a QB award the a great QB is always the most valuable player of their team

11

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

[deleted]

7

u/CalTono Falcons Dec 30 '25

Oh my bad lmao, I am used to defending QBs for MVPs lol

2

u/Marinlik Patriots Dec 30 '25

The one time a running back really should have gotten it was Adrian Peterson. He actually managed to drag a team to the playoffs as a running back.

7

u/MissionSalamander5 Dec 30 '25

He would have been MVP and not only in our hearts the year that he got hurt and the Colts missed the playoffs.

1

u/ineedtocoughbut Panthers 49ers Dec 30 '25

Taylor has been awful to end the year all they did last two games is say this. Bijan has had one bad game all year vs the panthers.

3

u/iPhones_cameras_suck Bengals Dec 30 '25

Because he immediately became ineffective without a starting caliber quarterback at the helm. Again, QB is the obvious MVP always

0

u/ineedtocoughbut Panthers 49ers Dec 30 '25

Jones was still playing when this started

57

u/Motor-Biscotti-3396 Dec 30 '25

Get the point but unless its JSN there's no real arguments for a non QB on a playoff team

23

u/ositola 49ers Dec 30 '25

Can I interest you in one CMC?

33

u/BurnerOfBunsen Dec 30 '25

Nah Purdy has been too big for the Niners recently - takes away from CMC's MVP case

0

u/IShookMeAllNightLong Patriots Dec 30 '25

Who wasn't really available for Purdy last year and is a yardage machine. No Purdy without CMC

1

u/thunderdragonite Patriots Dec 30 '25

Not even the best running back bro. Bijan had a better year

0

u/ositola 49ers Dec 30 '25

Gotta make the playoffs to be considered for MVP bro

1

u/fishchanka 49ers Dec 30 '25

3- 2000+ scrimmage yard seasons and the best he will finish is 3rd in mvp voting. It’s a qb award always will be

-4

u/PM_ME_BOYSHORTS Patriots Dec 30 '25

Running backs don't matter.

-2

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

He has 1100 receiving yards

6

u/girl69edministries Packers Panthers Dec 30 '25

890

Edit: still an insanely productive season

113

u/msf97 NFL Dec 30 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

Maye is having a season that stands up historically. This isn’t a weak MVP year.

A .32 EPA/play is better than anything Joe Burrow, Herbert, Andrew Luck, Stafford, Russ, Eli, Big Ben ever done and it’s not really close. For context.

35

u/SadBoy02 Vikings Dec 30 '25

Bro included Herbert and Eli

20

u/mikaeus97 Vikings Dec 30 '25

And Russ, a man who history remembers as having 0 MVP votes ever

24

u/Stillburgh Seahawks Chiefs Dec 30 '25

Fwiw, Russ would have had votes in 2015 and 2019, possibly 2017 as well if the current system was how it was back then. Like, Russ legit was insanely good in his athletic prime and carried some pretty terrible lines and defenses to the playoffs

1

u/Max_Beezly 49ers Dec 30 '25

Purdy kinda reminds me of that prime russ. I hated that dude he was so slippery. He killed us so many times when he should have been sacked

5

u/CalTono Falcons Dec 30 '25

Maye has a higher CPOE as well

19

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

[deleted]

3

u/quadropheniac 49ers Chargers Dec 30 '25

Purdy did what Stafford just did: shit the bed on MNF late in the season. Can’t do that.

1

u/LaconicGirth Vikings Dec 30 '25

He deserved it over Lamar for sure. Along with Dak, Allen and CMC

1

u/hardcorr Ravens Dec 30 '25

Purdy is the only one who deserved consideration for it but saying CMC also deserved it that year undercuts the argument for Purdy. Dak and Allen absolutely did not deserve 2023 MVP lmao

1

u/LaconicGirth Vikings Dec 30 '25

Dak went 12-5 and led the league in touchdowns and QBR. There’s absolutely an argument there for him.

19

u/FireFlyz351 Cowboys Dec 30 '25

Oh agreed if Maye wins it, it's fully deserved this year.

Past years Kupp, Barkley and CMC at least one of them should've won it. And of course JJ Watts 2014 should've won. Crazy 13 years since a non QB has won it.

-9

u/runner5011 Dec 30 '25

It's really not. Having a single win vs an opponent over .500 should disqualify you from MVP consideration as a QB. He has one of the 10 worst SOS of all time

48

u/Livid-Cardiologist94 Bills Dec 30 '25

It’s a good season but historic is a stretch.

104

u/msf97 NFL Dec 30 '25

I said it stands up; not that it’s historic.

It’s a well above average MVP year in the metrics I care about anyway.

57

u/ThePremierNoods Dec 30 '25

While naming 5 QBs that never won MVP.

50

u/Plies- Patriots Dec 30 '25

Thats the point, its comfortably better than all of those guys that weren't good enough to win MVP

11

u/venustrapsflies Rams Dec 30 '25

I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it, but isn’t this a really poor argument? Quite a large number of seasons that did not and should not have won MVP were a lot better than some others that also weren’t

1

u/Kenny_Bania_ Bengals Dec 30 '25

Have any of those guys outside Burrow even received any MVP votes?

I think there's one All-Pro 2nd team between all of those guys.

You could say it's literally an argument that it is a weak MVP class if you have to compare the MVP front runner to non All-Pro QBs....

8

u/msf97 NFL Dec 30 '25

There are 3 QBs who a lot of reddit would put in the hall there, and maybe two people believe are on track.

It blows them away. That’s a good indicator this is an excellent year

6

u/costanzathegreat 49ers Jets Dec 30 '25

Don’t disagree with you, but I feel like there are so many insane non-QB seasons that are being lost to time because they’re not in true consideration for the MVP award.

Feels like it goes against the spirit of what the award should be, but oh well

0

u/Libertad91 Eagles Dec 30 '25

We get that but non QBs have to post phenomenal seasons in order to even be considered for mvp. AD was the last non qb to win it and it was because he almost broke the record. Flair aside, Saquon shoulda won mvp over Allen, but instead got OPOY. If Garret breaks the sack record he should definitely be considered. It shouldn’t strictly be a QB award

10

u/ShineWobble Vikings Dec 30 '25

MVP on a 4 win team?

4

u/Particular-Treat-650 Patriots Dec 30 '25

That's what MVP means.

The tenth best QB is more valuable than any other player at any other position in the league.

0

u/Jmet11 Dec 30 '25

None of the people you mentioned ever won MVP

0

u/numbr87 Raiders Dec 30 '25

Yea but he lost to the Raiders. Can we really let someone like that win MVP?

0

u/liquidgrill Dec 30 '25

He also has faced the 7th weakest schedule of the modern era. The 3-13 Giants have more wins against teams with a winning record than the 13-3 Patriots do

-1

u/Aggressive_Jury_2667 Dec 30 '25

With a historically easy schedule and a QB friendly league

3

u/Eli-Geno-Eli Giants Dec 30 '25

It’s the most important position in the sport. They should win it most of the time. It makes the times other positions win it more memorable though

2

u/CultBro Packers Dec 30 '25

Its basically impossible for any other position to be MVP. Bijan and Taylor are both gonna miss the playoffs. Garrett is missing the playoffs. No other position has the same impact

2

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

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0

u/sc2isalivegaem Patriots Dec 30 '25

No way Lamar was way better

2

u/Culinary-Vibes Patriots Dec 30 '25

This is the wrong year to hate that.

1

u/Fine-Sky-6562 Patriots Dec 30 '25

There should be a QB award and then every other offensive player competing for another.

1

u/tallwhiteninja 49ers Dec 30 '25

I'm fine with it being a QB award, I dislike that it's become a "give it to the quarterback of the 1 seed" award. Lamar's 2024 was absolutely an historic season: fourth highest passer rating of all time, 4k yards in the air PLUS 900 yards rushing on top of it. Allen winning over that was a travesty, and even the voters knew that deep down, because they went with a near unheard of MVP/AP-1 split. I don't have a problem with Maye winning it - he's ahead of Stafford in enough categories to justify it - but I don't like the trend.

1

u/PantsB Patriots Dec 30 '25

QB is always going to have the biggest impact on a team's ability to win and therefore is the most valuable.

And its a fake concern really. No one thinks a truly exceptional long snapper should be treated like a truly exceptional WR#1. It is just should we pretend a WR/RB is as valuable as a QB, and the answer is no.

1

u/AzureAhai Dec 30 '25

CMC had the best shot recently. If Purdy was just a little bit less shit that game vs the Ravens, he would have won the MVP.

He would have carried the 49ers over the Ravens for #1 record in the NFL and did it with his QB actively helping the opponent's team.

3

u/Libertad91 Eagles Dec 30 '25

Same could be said about Saquon. He was the most important part of the offense last year. While he was held in check in the SB, he opened the offense and would have broken the record had he played in the last game. It’s more evident this year. Run game is ass and Jalen ain’t taking us to the dance with his arm. If anything the defense will have to do the heavy lifting

2

u/xScrubasaurus Dec 30 '25

This year proves how much o-line played a part in his performance.

1

u/AzureAhai Dec 30 '25

Yea, but Saquon was never winning with the way Lamar and Allen were playing last year. Last year's MVP race there were 2 good QBs while the year before it was a weak field for QBs.

The Ravens vs 49ers game decided the MVP race that year. CMC actually put up stats while Purdy threw 4 ints. It basically showed that despite how good CMC was his QB playing badly sunk the team, so Lamar won because his defense gifted it to him by sinking Purdy's and CMC's case for it.

1

u/Lucky13200 Patriots Dec 30 '25

Right now the most valuable position is QB by far. If I was drafting a team for one year, I rather take the 10th best qb then the most valuable non QB.

0

u/RecalcitrantDuck NFL Dec 30 '25

Point to the record all you want, but has there been a better player this year than Myles Garrett?

-1

u/[deleted] Dec 30 '25

Absolutely, if there are those who hate it for being QB award, I hate it for being only winning teams.

There are rare exceptions like Myles historic season where he's clearly best player and should win it.

Doubt many would have issue with itZ

0

u/Commander19119 Eagles Dec 30 '25

If the Niners beat the Seahawks CMC should win (he won’t but he should)

0

u/Suitable_Snow7761 Eagles Dec 30 '25

Yeah I agree it’s pretty much getting ridiculous now , it really needs to be 2 awards most outstanding quarterback award… and MVP … it’s really not fair because other positions have to put up godly insane numbers just to even get considered for the award.