How the Rams’ Matthew Stafford became an MVP finalist in his age-37 season

Nate Atkins

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7022629/2026/02/05/matthew-stafford-rams-mvp-finalist/?source=emp_shared_article

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Last summer, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford laid his ailing back flat on a blank white bed and let a flow of red light shoot through him.

He went into the Ammortal Chamber as a 37-year-old clinging to something in his past, desperate to find out who he’d be on the other side.

Then came a return to the practice field and the start of a 17th NFL season. And in Week 1, as he dropped back in the Los Angeles sunlight and ripped passes with velocity, I realized I’d seen this act before.

This looked like the Detroit Lions version of Stafford, six years after I’d watched him light up an overcast field in Michigan. All that was different was the gray beard poking through his chin strap. The next day, I told him as such.

“Good,” he said with a smile. “We’re trying to keep it that way.”

It was just about humanly impossible for Stafford to see then what was about to come: 20 games played, 52 touchdown passes, nine interceptions and 14 wins, with explosive throws and shimmy dances and a sprint downfield screaming about himself after a go-ahead score.

But I now believe he saw something in that first game week. Kind of like one of his no-look passes, he knew something was there that the others couldn’t see.

One final season of living as that five-star recruit who became a slam-dunk No. 1 pick, now hardened by the places he’s been and the narratives still left to shatter.

On Thursday night, Stafford will find out whether he’ll win his first MVP award at the NFL Honors ceremony. He’s a finalist along with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.

This is Stafford’s first finish in the top five of the MVP voting. This isn’t the first time he’s flashed an MVP look in his production, highlights or clutch play. However, it is the first time it’s all come together like this.

His 2025 season now leaves the seeds that show exactly how this back-to-life year came to be.

Start with Week 2 in Tennessee. The Rams were tied with the lowly Titans with 32 seconds left in the first half. Stafford dropped back, saw a route developing along the left sideline and let it rip — right into the arms of a Titans linebacker he hadn’t seen.

As the Titans drilled a field goal to take the halftime lead, Stafford spiked his blue and yellow helmet into the Nissan Stadium turf. By the time Davante Adams came over to console him, his receiver found a different person with the helmet off.

“I told him during the game: ‘Bro, you are the coolest dude I’ve been around,’ ” Adams said. “He’s not cussing. He’s not blaming anybody. It was like it happened in practice.”

Adams would bring that moment up after games in his first season playing with Stafford in Los Angeles. Ask him if he saw MVP traits out of his quarterback, and he’d say he saw them in Week 2.

At that point, Adams still needed to see something for himself. He’d signed with the Rams on a two-year deal to replace Cooper Kupp, a bet on the winning environment he didn’t experience with the Las Vegas Raiders or New York Jets. But he didn’t get to play with Stafford in training camp, when the veteran QB was lying in the Ammortal Chamber.

He, too, was looking through the helmet and wondering whether those grays in the beard were signs of a man slowing down or a stronger one emerging.

In Week 4, Stafford dropped back from his own 12-yard line in a tie game against the Indianapolis Colts and saw something from the corner of his eye.

Tutu Atwell, the same player he forced the ball to on the interception in Tennessee, broke open as a defender fell to the turf. He was on the back side of the formation, the last option in the progression on a route Stafford had never thrown before. Stafford lofted a pass up the seam that Atwell took to the end zone for an 88-yard game-winning touchdown.

“I’m a f—ing dawg!” Stafford screamed as he sprinted downfield.

Stafford has long learned to keep his reactions private. But even as he knew he was mic’d up, he couldn’t stop this euphoria. The joy shot through his body like those red lights from the Ammortal Chamber, igniting a player who wasn’t just back like before. This one was somehow even better.

Stafford would go on to throw 28 consecutive touchdown passes without an interception to set an NFL record.

A swirl of circumstances brought out the best season of his life: His offense evolved from an every-down 11-personnel approach to one that lined up three tight ends at a time. Play action emerged with a run game featuring Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, which spent most of the season at the top of efficiency metrics, creating a world unlike the four straight calendar years he played in Detroit, where no running back went over 100 rushing yards in a game.

His back had less to carry now. And that would prove to be all the strength it needed to let his arm and mind create art.

The Rams’ 13-personnel explosion became a chess move for a veteran player with knowledge of the board that few others could possess. And then came the no-look passes.

There was the one against the 49ers in Week 10, when he ran a play-action fake to the right, kept his back facing left and uncorked a toss back to the left that hit tight end Colby Parkinson as he high-legged into the end zone.

And there was Stafford, throwing his arms into the air to signal touchdown and then shimmying for the camera.

In that joy, in the rebound from the earlier interceptions and the ability to get off the white bed and play again, Stafford showed something to his teammates they hope the country can realize Thursday night.

“I know there’s a lot of media hype for Drake (Maye) and a lot of people pushing it, but there’s nobody who can lead a team like Matt does,” defensive end and captain Kobie Turner said. “There’s nobody who can make those plays in the clutch moments like Matt does.”

This isn’t the first time Stafford has had a lane to the MVP trophy.

In the 2016 season, he was leading the Lions on a run that was hard to fathom for the franchise. They’d won four consecutive games to get to 8-4 when they hosted the Chicago Bears the following Sunday. Stafford threw a pass and, on his follow-through, slapped the helmet of a pass rusher and dislocated the middle finger on his right hand.

He tucked the pain beneath the adrenaline to barrel through two defenders while clutching the football in that hurt hand for another game-winning score, one of eight that season, which still stands as an NFL record.

However, the finger injury never went away. He went on to play four more games, but his production and downfield throws declined. Mired in Detroit’s four-year drought without a 100-yard rusher in a game, it all became too much for a then-28-year-old to lift.

That moment was buried somewhere inside him when he faced the Carolina Panthers in this year’s wild-card round. After the season of his lifetime, Stafford sprained a finger on his throwing hand once again on a follow-through. He completed just 2 of 12 passes in the middle stretch of the game. And soon, his team’s season was on life support, down four points with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left.

Adams ran onto the field with him again.

“Let’s go snatch these guys’ hearts,” Stafford said.

And then he ripped throw after throw, to Adams and others, before laying a ball out on the sideline that only Parkinson could sky to reach before spinning into the end zone for a game-winning score with 38 seconds remaining.

“That was one of the most gangsta things you could say,” Adams said. “The look on his face, and then to throw the touchdown and the look on his face after that. MVP stuff.”

This was Stafford, hardened by the emptiness of those Detroit seasons, now with the knowledge of what it takes to win in the playoffs. He’d show it again the next week in one of his worst games in the divisional round in Chicago. He’d get the ball one final time in overtime in the snow and rip a cross-body throw to Adams along the sideline while falling back to set up a game-winning field goal to beat the Bears.

After his seventh career playoff victory — seven more than he had in Detroit — Stafford embraced coach Sean McVay for a hug.

“Hey, way to hang with me,” Stafford told him. “I was dog s— for a while.”

Of all the moments that could tell the story of Stafford’s best season, the ones that stick with those closest to him happen away from the playing field.

“What you don’t see is that he’s in that office right next to me in that quarterback room at 5:45 every single morning starting his prep, being able to impact and influence the questions, the intrinsic motivation, the ability to be able to give confidence to the other 10 guys because he truly is an extension of the coaching staff,” McVay said.

It’s in Stafford, showing up to Tuesday breakfast with his four daughters: 8-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, 7-year-old Hunter and 5-year-old Tyler.

“People walk through the door and (my daughters are) like, ‘Oh, there’s Braden Fiske,’ ” Stafford said. “I’m like, ‘It’s kind of a good one to know. D-lineman, kind of non-descript. Pretty awesome.’ I was impressed. So it’s really fun. It’s what keeps me coming back and it gets me in the right headspace before the game starts every time.”

The behind-the-scenes moments have long humanized Stafford to his teammates, translating the make-believe on the field into someone they can have a beer with or attend a Halloween party at his mansion.

In Detroit, that meant meeting with every single wide receiver on the active roster and practice squad after a session to talk through the playbook, or flying out rookie players to a retreat at his home in Georgia before they had the money to buy their own way.

In Los Angeles, it’s manifested in a new way.

Stafford’s four daughters are now all old enough to come to his games. That’s why he lay under those red lights in the summer, and it’s also what got him off the white bed and back onto the field.

“The girls are getting to an age to see their dad do something,” general manager Les Snead said, “that only so many people on this planet can do.”

The four daughters came to his final home game of the season against the Arizona Cardinals, waiting for their father to sprint over before the game, to take that helmet off and show the face they see each night before bed and when they open their eyes in the morning.

“We’re on there!” one of them shouted while pointing at the video board above SoFi Stadium. “Look at it!”

“Last game of Daddy’s 17th season,” Stafford’s wife, Kelly, told the daughters.

Then he ran back onto the field and threw the final four touchdowns on his NFL-leading 46-touchdown regular season.

If Stafford wins the MVP award or doesn’t, if he decides to hang up the helmet this offseason or come back for another run, the motivation will be in those smiles and points at the video board.

It’ll be in the eyes of the daughters he found at 2:30 a.m. after his 17th season ended in the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks, after he became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 350 yards with three touchdowns and no turnovers and lose a playoff game.

One of them said she felt bad for him, and he held her in his arms and told her not to cry.

“I get to play this game. I’ve gotten to play it for 17 years,” Stafford said on his “Let’s Go!” podcast. “I’ve got four little girls that are cheering me on, a beautiful wife that’s doing the same. And sports, and football in particular, is difficult at times, but it also gives me the opportunity to teach my kids and be something for them, right? I could sit there and go, ‘Man, I feel like I played good and we didn’t win, and this happened and that happened, and excuses.’

“But it’s like, ‘No, have the courage to go put yourself out there, live with the results and learn from ’em.’”

Whether he comes back or not is what so many people are waiting to find out. It’s the next vision he’ll see before anyone else does.

Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
And so it begins.

Mike LaFleur and the Cardinals have requested to interview Aubrey Pleasant for their defensive coordinator job

from Nate Atkins, mailbag: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7017027/2026/02/04/rams-mailbag-matthew-stafford-joe-burrow/?source=emp_shared_article

What caused the defense to drop off late in the season? It went from a top-five unit to one that consistently allowed more than 20 points. It was blamed on Quentin Lake’s injury, but it didn’t rebound after he returned. Was it just not that good, and then was exposed by better competition later in the season? Can a better secondary fix it, or is there more to it?

Nate Atkins: The defensive regression started right after the Rams thumped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. I remember thinking at the time that the games to come would be a big test of how much they missed Lake and how much was natural regression for the lowest-paid defense in the league.

In the end, the answer was both.

Lake earned a massive extension upon his return because he’s a critical piece to a Chris Shula scheme that is built on the secondary, while the resources he has to work with are in the front four. Lake rotates from nickel cornerback to strong safety to free safety to disguise the coverages behind those creative fronts, and he communicates the late changes in run fits and coverages to younger players on the back end.

It just isn’t the same creative force without him. So, while his return didn’t fix everything, I believe it did contribute to Cobie Durant’s three interceptions in three playoff games, as well as a much-improved run defense that allowed 3.7 yards per carry in those games.

But although the sum of Lake’s impact is large, he isn’t a singular playmaker himself just yet. He has one career interception. And so the Rams needed more of that star power to come from the front four, and it just didn’t happen enough in the playoffs.

Part of that was Byron Young hurting his knee against the Bears. Part of it is that he and Jared Verse need to become better sack finishers with the pressures they create. And part of it was the regression of an outside cornerback group that never had a No. 1 option to funnel matchups through, leaving it to rotate three players at one spot against the Seahawks.

It’s possible that a healthy Ahkello Witherspoon could have made the picture come together this past season. All teams have injuries, but key setbacks hurt more to a defense that doesn’t have many financial resources. But I do feel the defense is a top-notch cornerback away from being the unit that throttled the Seahawks and Buccaneers in back-to-back games. Finding that guy is harder to do, but with two first-round picks and ample cap space, that needs to be the focus of the offseason.

Howard Balzer@HBalzer721
Rams HC Sean McVay can be a model for how coaches should communicate with fans through the media. The transcript of his media talk yesterday after signing a contract extension yesterday was 6,885 words of insight, emotion and passion.

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2026/02/03/rams-bubba-ventrone-sean-mcvay-special-teams-coordinator/88488424007/?taid=698245cf8e61a70001b52b90&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

McVay hired former Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone….He confirmed the hire of Ventrone and assistant Kyle Hoke during his media session on Monday, telling reporters that he’s had his eye on Ventrone for a long time.

“He’s the guy I’ve had my eye on for a while,” McVay said, via the Rams’ official site. “… Very aligned philosophically. He’s got a great energy, a great edge. He’s a great communicator. You talk to people when you do the vetting and the background and what he does in regards to just being able to uplift and elevate people he’s around in situations he’s a part of.”

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2026/02/03/rams-sean-mcvay-tutu-atwell-contract-role/88493020007/

During his final media session on Monday, McVay explained what led to Atwell’s shockingly limited role. He attributed it to a few things: Los Angeles’ shift toward 13 personnel, its depth at wide receiver and Atwell’s missed time on IR.

“Well, I think the first thing is, the vision that we had for what our offense was going to be going into the season, and then what it became organically was very different – just based on the number of receivers that we played with in a lot of situations,” McVay said. “Part of the thought process when we made that signing last year was that we were going to still be in a lot of the 11 personnel grouping. You have him and Puka (Nacua) and Davante (Adams) and then, you know, the complementary pieces. And then unfortunately, he had some injuries. There were some different things that went on where, hey, the games continue to go when he missed the period of time. And then when we kind of organically figured out this next iteration, where we leaned into a lot of the 13 personnel, that naturally just takes receivers off the grass.”

Scott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
The Seahawks gave up the most deep passing yards (226) of any defense in any playoff game in the last 10 years vs. Rams in NFC Championship Game.

InvaderRam wrote:

common sense would say retire. mvp or not.

Not necessarily. I mean if you’re going to go that route, common sense would have said never to play the game of football in the first place.

It’s part of who he is. His rookie year he refused to leave the game with a dislocated shoulder and stayed in to throw a touchdown. Common sense would have told him not to do that either.

He has a passion for the game that matches his talent. If that’s fading, then yes walk away. If not, then, there is no other consideration.

Judge calls DOJ’s statements on slavery exhibit ‘dangerous’ and ‘horrifying’

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/american-national-park-service-philadelphia-justice-department-donald-trump-b2911294.html

A federal judge has warned Justice Department lawyers that they were making “dangerous” and “horrifying” statements when they said the Trump Administration can decide what part of American history to display at National Park Service sites.

The sharp exchange erupted during a hearing in Philadelphia over the abrupt removal of an exhibit on the history of slavery at the site of the former President’s House on Independence Mall.

The city, which worked in tandem with the park service on the exhibit two decades ago, was stunned to find workers this month using crowbars to remove outdoor plaques, panels and other materials that told the stories of the nine people who had been enslaved there.

Some of the history had only been unearthed in the past quarter-century.

“You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it. It doesn’t work that way,” said Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, an appointee of President George W. Bush.

The removal followed President Donald Trump’s executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks.

In Philadelphia, the materials were put in a pickup truck and then into storage, leading Rufe to voice concerns about whether they were damaged.

“Although many people feel strongly about this (exhibit) one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken.

“Ultimately,” he said, “the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”

Rufe swiftly cut him off.

“That is a dangerous statement you are making. It is horrifying to listen to,” she said.

“It changes on the whims of someone in charge? I’m sorry, that is not what we elected anybody for.”

Rufe heard hours of testimony Friday from former city officials who had helped plan the exhibit, and said the city had kicked in $1.5 million toward the project.

She plans to visit both the storage area and the site before ruling on the city’s request to have the exhibit restored. But she asked the Justice Department lawyers to ensure that nothing else is disturbed.

In den Berken said the Park Service routinely changes its exhibits and tours, and argued that the government cannot be forced to tell a certain story. But lawyers for the city and other advocates said the park service does not have “carte blanche” to interpret the nation’s history as it sees fit.

The exhibit includes biographical details about the nine people enslaved by George and Martha Washington at the presidential mansion. Now, only their names — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll and Joe — remain engraved into a cement wall.

Michael Coard, an attorney representing one of the advocacy groups supporting the exhibit, said the president was ignoring the power held by Congress, the judiciary and the American people.

“It’s one thing to whisper that type of dictatorial power. But to send lawyers into a public courtroom to make that argument is absolutely frightening,” he said. “I’m really worried about the state of America.”

Rufe said she planned to rule quickly, noting the surge of visitors expected to visit the nation’s birthplace this year to mark its 250th anniversary of being founded.

Residents who have visited the site have shed tears, left flowers and left a handmade sign that said “Slavery was real.”

SleeperNFL@SleeperNFL
Sean McVay said the Rams’ NFC Championship Game loss to the Seahawks “probably hurt even more than any loss that I’ve ever been a part of.”

wv wrote:

Well, the eyeball test told me it was solid and dependable, but the Eagles running attack last year was in a different league.

w
v

I am new at this stat and just now looked up everything I post here.

Eagles had more big plays.

Success rate is a different metric. In success rate, “solid and dependable” is precisely what you’re measuring.

I post a couple of things on success rate below. But before that I’m going to compare the Rams 2025 offense to the Eagles 2024 offense.

Rams 2025 were 1st in yards, 1st in points, 1st in first downs, 4th in success rate per play, 2nd in yards per drive, and 1st in points per drive…and while 16th in rushing attempts were 6th in YPC.
Eagles 2024 were 8th in yards, 7th in points, 6th in first downs, 8th in success rate per play, 11th in yards per drive, and 8th in points per drive…and while 1st in rushing attempts were 5th in YPC.

Do those numbers say that the Rams had the better passing attack? Yes. But the numbers also say that while they did not run as often as the 2024 Eagles, they had pretty much the same yards per rushing attempt.

The 2024 Eagles got more yards total rushing, but the Rams while running less got enough yards per carry to sustain more drives and get more yards per drive. How? Well that would probably be RB success rate.

So to me what RB success rate doesn’t measure is this–probably, the 2025 Rams were so good in the passing game that they faced defenses that were thinking pass first, which allowed them to use the run to stay on the field (when they did in fact use the run). The backs were doing consistently well because of Stafford, though on the other hand their running game (when they used it) helped them stay on the field and be first in points per drive.

With the 2024 Eagles it was the opposite. The pass worked because of the run.

Anyway I looked up success rate.

This is from AI:

AI Overview
Success rate in the NFL running game measures the percentage of carries that keep an offense “on schedule” based on down and distance, rather than just total yardage. A run is generally considered successful if it gains at least 40% of required yards on 1st down, 60% on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd/4th down.

Key Aspects of Running Game Success Rate:

Consistency over Big Plays: Unlike yards-per-carry (YPC), which can be skewed by one long run, success rate rewards consistent, efficient running. A 10-yard run on 3rd-and-15 is deemed unsuccessful, while a 3-yard run on 3rd-and-2 is successful.

Definition of a “Success”:

1st Down: Gain 40%–50% of necessary yards.
2nd Down: Gain 60%–70% of necessary yards.
3rd/4th Down: Gain 100% (convert or score).

Contextual Metric: It helps analyze how frequently a running back or team avoids wasted downs, keeping the offense in manageable situations.

Alternative Definition (Next Gen Stats): Sometimes, success rate refers to “Rush Yards Over Expected” (RYOE%), measuring how often a runner gains more yards than a league-average player would on that specific play.

This metric is favored for determining the reliability of a running game and its ability to keep drives moving, often highlighting consistent backs over those who only provide occasional big plays.

***

This is from a human: https://www.dawgsbynature.com/2015/11/23/9783200/by-the-numbers-rushing-efficiency

Success Rate [is] the percentage of plays where a running back makes the minimum gain necessary for “success.” It’s explained in detail by Football Outsiders here, but here’s the basics of what’s considered a success:

In general, a play counts as a “hit” if it gains 40% of yards on first down, 60% of yards on second down, and 100% of yards on third down.

If the team is behind by more than a touchdown in the fourth quarter, the benchmarks switch to 50%/65%/100%.
If the team is ahead by any amount in the fourth quarter, the benchmarks switch to 30%/50%/100%.

What you may notice is that there’s no “extra credit” for breaking a big run. This is simply a measure of consistency. A back who always picks up exactly two yards on third and one will have a perfect success rate. Meanwhile, a back who breaks half of his third down attempts for long touchdowns and gets stuffed on the other half will have a 50% success rate. But is that first scenario really preferable to the second? I don’t think so.

from facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122130172227066949&set=a.122106011391066949

Anthony Hopkins spent an entire day searching for a book—and never found it in a single shop.
Then, by pure chance, he sat down on a subway bench.
It was 1973. Hopkins had just been cast in The Girl from Petrovka, a film adapted from a novel by American journalist and author George Feifer. As any serious actor would, Hopkins wanted to read the original book before stepping into the role.
So he did what actors and writers had done for decades. He walked the length of London’s famous Charing Cross Road, moving from bookstore to bookstore, asking the same question again and again.
Nothing.
The novel wasn’t available anywhere in the UK. Not new. Not used. Not forgotten on a dusty shelf.
By evening, frustrated and exhausted, Hopkins entered Leicester Square Underground Station to head home. As he sat down on a bench to wait for his train, something caught his eye.
A book had been left behind.
He picked it up, turned it over—and froze.
The Girl from Petrovka.
The exact book he’d spent the entire day searching for, abandoned on a subway bench in a city of millions.
Hopkins took it home and began reading immediately. That’s when he noticed something even stranger. The margins were filled with handwritten notes in red ink—careful annotations throughout the text, clearly written by someone deeply familiar with the story.
He didn’t question it. He used the notes to better understand his character, prepared for the role, and quietly filed the incident away as one of life’s odd coincidences.
Months later, filming took Hopkins to Vienna.
One day on set, he was introduced to a visitor.
George Feifer.
The two spoke about the adaptation, the characters, and the process of translating a novel to the screen. Then Feifer mentioned something that stopped Hopkins cold.
“I don’t have a copy of my own book anymore,” Feifer said. “Years ago, I lent my personal copy to a friend in London. It had all my notes written in the margins. He lost it—and I’ve never seen it again.”
Hopkins felt a chill.
“I think I found it,” he said carefully. “On a bench in the Underground. It has handwritten notes all through it.”
Feifer stared at him in disbelief.
Hopkins retrieved the book and handed it over.
Feifer didn’t need long. One look was enough.
It was his handwriting. His annotations. His personal copy—lost years earlier—somehow left on asubway bench at the exact moment Anthony Hopkins sat down beside it.
In a city of millions.
Across countless streets and stations.
The right book.
The right bench.
The right moment.
Feifer recovered a book he thought was gone forever. Hopkins gained a story he would tell for the rest of his life.

LAFB Network@LAFBNetwork
Tom Brady handed out his personal end of season awards, and Quentin Lake took home 6th Round Pick of the Year. From late round flyer to impact piece, another Rams draft hit.