Drake Maye fell short of earning the first MVP of his career. The second-year quarterback was one first-place vote away from winning the award over Matthew Stafford, who got 24 first-place votes to 23. For Maye, though, there’s something more important to win in the next few days.
Patriots Send a Super Bowl Message After Drake Maye Is Second In MVP Vote
On Sunday, Maye will play in the first Super Bowl of his career. The quarterback led the New England Patriots in an astonishing turnaround, from 4-13 in 2024 to 14-3 and a Super Bowl berth in 2025. Naturally, he has bigger goals in mind than winning the MVP award.
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The same feeling is shared by the Patriots. After the result of the vote was announced, the team’s social media account shared a five-word message with a photo of the quarterback, noting how the Super Bowl trophy is more important than an individual accolade:
Bigger trophy on the mind. pic.twitter.com/DxuC42x9cg
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 6, 2026
The Patriots will play the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60, giving Maye the opportunity to become the second quarterback to win a championship ring for New England. With six Super Bowls in its history, the franchise had Tom Brady as their quarterback in all of its wins.
The NFL wasn’t far from a duel of Stafford and Maye in the Super Bowl. The Rams fell short of a third Super Bowl appearance in eight years, losing to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. After winning the award, Stafford confirmed he won’t retire during the offseason, and he’s searching for another Super Bowl after winning a ring in 2021.
The Numbers Behind Maye’s Excellent 2025 Season
The Patriots’ quarterback had an excellent year. Maye started all 17 games and finished with 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also had 450 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns to go, proving his ability to hurt defenses with his legs.
But nothing was more important than how he lifted the franchise. New England won 10 more games than the previous year. The impact of new faces such as Mike Vrabel, Stefon Diggs, and Milton Williams can’t be understated, but having a great passer makes everything easier.
And the Patriots know truly and well the value of a franchise quarterback.
New England did win an award on Thursday. Vrabel, in his first year calling the shots with the team he played for from 2001 to 2008, which won three Super Bowls, was named the Coach of the Year for the season, outlasting Liam Coen by three first-place votes.
