Matthew Stafford continues to age like fine wine. More than halfway through his 17th NFL season, he is the co-betting favorite with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye to win the league’s MVP award. The Los Angeles Rams signal-caller bolstered his MVP campaign Sunday with his third consecutive four-touchdown performance, and following the 42-26 win over the division rival San Francisco 49ers, Stafford’s teammates championed him as the best player in the NFL.
It is not just those in the Los Angeles locker room who view Stafford as the league’s top standout. The 37-year-old has the shortest odds to win the award, per FanDuel, after opening the year as a relative afterthought.
“It’s looked like MVP play to me all year, to be honest,” said Rams wide receiver Davante Adams. “Even certain games, the pick he threw against Tennessee and the way he bounced back after that, that’s how an MVP plays to me. To rally a team and continue to lead at a high level after not, when things don’t go your way, I think that’s what really shows what an MVP is about.”
NFL MVP odds through Week 10
Odds via FanDuel
Stafford has been on a heater since Week 4, and that extended run of outstanding play has him on pace to reach heights he has yet to achieve in his prolific career. If the season ended today, Stafford would finish as the NFL leader in passing yards per game (269.7) and touchdowns (25) for the first time.
“He’s just playing very confident,” cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. said. “He’s trusting in his guys to make a play when the ball comes to them. He’s playing like an MVP, honestly.”
An MVP win would all but cement Stafford’s status as a future Hall of Famer. The achievement he logged in Sunday’s win did not hurt, either. With a 4-yard completion to Davis Allen in the second quarter, Stafford became just the ninth quarterback in NFL history to reach 400 career touchdown passes.
Jonathan Taylor should have major role in MVP race
While Stafford stands as the new MVP favorite, he is far from clear of competition. In addition to the premier quarterbacks who surround him as fellow statistical leaders and Super Bowl contenders, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor strengthens his case on a weekly basis. Taylor now has the third-best odds to secure the honor after one of the best games of his career.
Taylor excelled in his workhorse role in leading the Colts to an overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons, amassing 32 carries for 244 yards and three touchdowns. He tacked on three catches for another 42 yards, too. It was the third time he cracked the 200-yard mark in his six-year career and kept him on pace to close the year as the NFL’s top rusher. He also leads the league in rushing touchdowns with 15.
It was a needed bounce-back effort for Taylor, who struggled through his worst performance of the year in Week 9, and he willed the Colts to a rebound victory, righting the ship in what could be a Super Bowl campaign.
If Taylor wins the MVP award, he would be the first non-quarterback to do so since Adrian Peterson in 2012.
