The NFL MVP race can turn on a single night, and in Week 17, that pendulum swung hard. What once looked like Matthew Stafford’s award to lose suddenly belongs to New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, whose near-flawless dismantling of the New York Jets coincided with Stafford’s untimely collapse against the Atlanta Falcons. By the time the dust settled, Maye had surged to the top of the MVP odds.
Drake Maye’s Performance Against the Jets Is Among the Best QB Showings of This Century
On Sunday, Drake Maye completed 19 of 21 pass attempts for 256 yards and five touchdowns with zero turnovers, leading the New England Patriots to a 42-10 win over the New York Jets. From an efficiency standpoint, it was as close to perfect as modern football allows, despite Maye not being at full strength and contending with a cough.
His 97.8 QB rating, according to PFSN’s QB Impact metric, was the highest-graded quarterback performance of the entire season and the second-best performance dating back to 2000, including the playoffs. The only game that graded higher belongs to Peyton Manning’s 2007 performance against the Baltimore Ravens, at 99.8. It was a game that has long stood as the gold standard for quarterback play in the 21st century.
Meanwhile, across the country on Sunday, Matthew Stafford delivered his worst performance of the year at the worst possible time. Against an Atlanta Falcons defense that Maye had already beaten earlier in the season, Stafford completed 22 of 38 passes for 269 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in a 27-24 loss. One of those interceptions went back for a touchdown, and another nearly did the same. It was a mistake-filled night that stood in contrast to Maye’s surgical precision.
Over the course of the season, Maye has been elite across the board, posting a 71.7% completion rate, 4,203 passing yards, 30 touchdown passes, and eight interceptions. Add in his mobility, 409 rushing yards, and four rushing touchdowns, and his value becomes even clearer.
Context matters, too. Maye has consistently done more with less, elevating a Patriots roster that entered the season with fewer offensive weapons than Stafford’s Los Angeles Rams, according to Patriots Wire.
When comparing performances against six common opponents, the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ravens, and Falcons, Maye outplayed Stafford head-to-head in those matchups.
According to PFSN’s QBi, for the season, the second-year quarterback has received a score of 90.2 with an A- grade. Meanwhile, Stafford has a score of 82.8 with a B- rating.
