NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry had one of the 50 MVP voters on his podcast Friday to see their take on if Drake Maye can snatch up one of the league's highest awards.
The debate rages on as to whether Drake Maye or Matthew Stafford will walk away with the MVP award in just a few weeks' time.
The reason for it becoming such a hot topic is that, merely one week ago, many pundits and top NFL analysts felt that Stafford had the award pretty much on lock despite Mayes' valiant efforts to stay in the conversation over the last few weeks.
Then the Patriots' 42-10 dominance over the New York Jets on Sunday happened. This was then followed by Matthew Stafford's dismal performance on Monday night in the Los Angeles Rams' 27-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Three interceptions and one pick-six later by Stafford, and now Drake Maye is very much back on the table for MVP.
The NFL's Associated Press (AP) Most Valuable Player Award is voted on by a panel of 50 voters, including numerous journalists and broadcasters who cover the game. Today on The Next Pats podcast, NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry sat down and chatted with The Athletic's Mike Sando, who is a Hall of Fame selector and one of the 50 voters who will decide if Maye has had a season worthy of the NFL's prestigious award that singles out an individual player.
"I was surprised that Drake Maye wasn't the betting favorite Sunday night after the big game against the Jets," Sando said. "Because Stafford was coming off, you know, a good game, but they lost against Seattle. And so, this to me totally makes Maye—I'd be surprised if he didn't win it."
You have to wonder what the other 49 voters think after hearing this.
Maye indeed looked like he took the lead in the race on Sunday and Monday night. His win over the Jets was a game that only saw him on the field for about two and a half quarters. The second-year signal caller would go 19 for 21 for 256 yards and five touchdowns. He would also hit the 4,000-passing-yard mark in this game.
Pats fans had not seen a quarterback for their team do that since Tom Brady did it in 2019 (he would do it 10 more times during his run in New England).
As mentioned above, the debate rages on, whether it's Kay Adams and her stance on Stafford as the MVP or the chatter on The Patriots Roundtable Podcast.
But if one of the MVP voters is already saying, for now, it's Maye, that's a big deal. Things can always change, though.