The Drake Maye led Patriots improved from 4-13 to 14-3 in only one season by only losing a few games early in the season and then a close game later in the season to the Buffalo Bills, their divisional rivals, they made it into the playoffs as the number two seed. Then Drake Maye was able to beat three out of the top five defenses in the league to make it to the Super Bowl according to ESPN. Many people think that he’s only been able to do all of this because of the easy schedule they had and that Matthew Stafford is the true MVP.
Comparing stats between the two MVP candidates, it’s a very close race. Stafford has 4,707 yards while Maye has 4,394 yards, but an important thing to look at when checking the yards is the amount of attempts they had for the year. Maye had 492 attempts while Stafford had 597 attempts which is over 100 more attempts then Maye’s. Looking at the attempts for each, Maye had a 72% completion rate while Stafford’s was only 65%. This shows that Maye was much more efficient when he threw the ball than Stafford (ESPN).
Another big category to look at is the touchdowns for each QB. This category is a little controversial because while Stafford has 46 touchdowns and Maye has only 31 touchdowns, as many people believe that the gap is only because Stafford threw 8 touchdown passes to Davante Adams inside the 5 yard line while most teams would choose to just run the ball.
Drake Maye has been remarkable at age 23 for the Patriots this season. He has set multiple records for the Patriots and also for the NFL. He broke Tom Brady’s record for games with a passer rating of above 100. Drake Maye finished the regular season with a passer rating of above 100 in 13 games played, beating Brady by 1 game. He also set the Patriots completion percentage record with a completion percentage of 72%, the 6th most all time. Drake Maye is the only QB in Super Bowl era history to finish a game with a 90% completion rate, 200 passing yards, and 50 rushing yards. He also was the only QB in NFL history to have a 90% completion percentage or higher in 2 games in a season (ESPN).
Drake Maye has not only the stats but also the record to prove he deserves the MVP. Maye was able to go 9-0 on the road and take his team to the Super Bowl while Stafford went 5-4 and lost in the Semi Finals. The excuse of an easy schedule doesn’t work out because he beat all the teams he was supposed to and took his new and young team to the superbowl while Stafford has a team and coach that has been together for a while and wasn’t able to do that. Not to mention, before the season everyone thought that the Patriots would be the worst in the AFC East, but Drake Maye proved everyone wrong. That’s why he deserved the MVP.
