Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was named a finalist for the AP NFL MVP Award. Additionally, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua was named a finalist for the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. The winners of all the AP awards will be announced at NFL Honors on Thursday, February 5.
Stafford was one of five finalists for the MVP award. The other four are New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who won the award last season, and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffery.
This season, Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns to just eight interceptions while leading the Rams to a 12-5 record and now on the brink of a Super Bowl berth if they can defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. He has been one of the favorites for the award all season long alongside Maye with many going back and forth on who should take it home.
For his part, Maye threw for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns with just eight interceptions while leading the league with a 72% completion percentage and adding another 450 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Stafford has already been voted a First-Team All Pro by the AP, while also being named the Pro Football Writers of America’s NFL MVP and being named to the PFWA’s All-NFL team.
Nacua is also one of the favorites to take home the Offensive Player of the Year Award, though many have Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at the top of the list. Maye and McCaffery were also named as finalists along with Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.
In his third season, Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions and his 1,715 receiving yards ranked second while also adding 1o receiving touchdowns. He also led the league with 27 contested catches according to Pro Football Focus and led all receiver with 729 yards after catch, according to Next Gen Stats. He was named to the 2025 AP All-Pro First Team as well as the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-NFL team.
Stafford and Nacua combined to lead the Rams’ offense as the best in the NFL this season. The Rams led the entire league in points scored, total yards, passing yards and first downs.
Rams’ Matthew Stafford critical of play vs. Bears
While the individual awards are great, the ultimate goal for Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and the Rams is to reach and win the Super Bowl. They got one step closer with their divisional round win over Chicago Bears, but even though they got the victory, Stafford was not happy with how he played.
