Matthew Stafford won the 2026 NFL MVP award.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback claimed the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player honor at the NFL Honors ceremony on February 5, 2026, capping a historic regular season.

The Winner

Matthew Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns, alongside just eight interceptions, earning a 109.2 passer rating—second-best in the league.

He started all 17 games despite early injury concerns, powering the Rams to a strong playoff push and defying expectations at age 38.

Rams teammates like running back Blake Corum called it unanimous: "He is the MVP. There's no ifs ands or buts about it."

Finalists Breakdown

The 2026 MVP race featured a stacked field of quarterbacks and one standout non-QB, narrowed to five finalists via media voting:

Finalist| Team| Key Stats| Team Record/Notes
---|---|---|---
Matthew Stafford| Rams| 4,707 pass yds, 46 TDs, 109.2 rating| Led NFL in yards/TDs; first All-Pro nod 31
Josh Allen| Bills| Not detailed; divisional powerhouse| Bills ousted Jags in playoffs 35
Trevor Lawrence| Jaguars| 4,007 yds, 29 TDs, 12 INTs| 13-4 record, AFC South champs; finalist debut 35
Drake Maye| Patriots| 4,394 yds, 31 TDs, 72% comp., 113.5 rating| AFC East winners, AFC title game 3
Christian McCaffrey| 49ers| 1,202 rush yds/10 TDs + 924 rec yds/7 TDs| Carried injury-hit 49ers to 12 wins; rare RB finalist 3

Voting used Ranked Choice: 50 media voters ranked top-5 (10 pts for 1st, down to 1 pt for 5th).

Race Highlights

  • Preseason Buzz : Early predictions eyed stars like Patrick Mahomes, but Stafford surged post-Week 18 with 4 TDs, becoming BetMGM favorite by Jan. 4.
  • Storylines : Stafford overcame a training camp disk injury; Maye set rookie-like records; McCaffrey made history as triple-finalist (MVP, OPOY, All-Pro).
  • Trending Debate : Forums lit up with stats vs. narrative—e.g., Reddit users argued passing bias favors QBs over "flashy" total yards.

Why Stafford?

His league-leading numbers, resilience, and Rams success edged out Maye's rating and Lawrence's wins, per AP panel.

No prior MVP in his career, adding to the narrative triumph before playoffs.

TL;DR : Matthew Stafford (Rams QB) took 2026 NFL MVP on Feb. 5 after dominating stats (4,707 yds, 46 TDs) and leading frontrunner status.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.