In the closest MVP race since 2003, a vote for Justin Herbert made all the difference.
Justin Herbert’s first-place MVP vote probably swung the closest MVP race since Steve “Air” McNair and Peyton Manning split the award in 2003.
It was the Chargers star’s first first-place MVP vote and it meant Drake Maye finished one vote shy of Matthew Stafford’s 24 first-place votes. Stafford finished with 366 award points to Maye’s 361.
At the turn of the century another Los Angeles star Shaquille O’Neal finished one vote shy of a unanimous MVP in the NBA. Another case where a single vote changed the course of history. Maye in his second year will most likely have some more cracks at it but nothing is guaranteed. A career can change in the blink of an eye, and as First-Ballot Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly showed, sometimes players decide to call it a career early.
2009 was the last time a Charger was in consideration for the award. Not only did Philip Rivers finish third but former Charger Drew Brees finished second. In his best season as a Charger, another First-Ballot Hall of Famer, Drew Brees led the team to 12 wins, winning comeback player of the year but got no MVP consideration.
In the 70s and 80s, Dan Fouts of the Chargers was in the mix a couple of times including coming in a close second in 1982 losing 35-33 in voting to kicker Mark Mosely.
A huge advantage for Herbert looking to secure more votes next year is the pedigree of his play caller. When Matt Ryan won MVP in 2016, McDaniel was his offensive assistant. Deebo Samuel received votes in his breakout season as a receiving and rushing “wide back” with McDaniel as offensive coordinator in 2021. And lastly, Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill received votes in 2022 and 2023 respectively with Tagovailoa finishing ninth. Hill had over 1799 yards receiving and 13 receiving touchdowns.
With the use of motion on passing plays, deep shots, and zone runs to take the pressure off the QB under McDaniel, the offense should be looking good. Herbert is widely regarded as more talented than Tagovailoa who thrived playing in McDaniel’s offense. While team success should come first, and has been a (regular season) standard under Jim Harbaugh, unlocking the passing game while also having Omarion Hampton in the backfield, could lead to gaudy offensive numbers and even higher statistical finishes. Health should help on the offensive line as well because Herbert was really running for his life last year.