The NFL MVP race usually delivers debate, and this year, it delivered chaos. When the final ballots were revealed for the NFL MVP award for the 2025 season, the Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford.

But if you look closely at how many votes he received compared to his competitors, the voting distribution might surprise you at first.

Out of 50 voters, one first-place vote went to Justin Herbert. Not Matthew Stafford, who led the tally. Not Drake Maye, who pushed the race to the edge. And definitely not Josh Allen. One voter stood alone, and the internet lost its mind.

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Stafford led with 24 first-place votes, followed closely by Maye with 23. Allen received two votes. But one of the MVP voters cast his single first-place vote for Herbert.

That lone vote triggered immediate backlash, with fans and analysts questioning how Herbert could even enter the conversation. However, rather than letting the criticism simmer, the voter, Sam Monson, addressed the controversy directly on X.

“I was the Justin Herbert vote,” voter Monson wrote. “The guy had the worst offensive line in the NFL all season and despite that he was working miracles in almost every single game. Stafford’s OL became two-fifths as bad as Herbert’s for five minutes and he became a turnover howitzer.”

If that’s the voter’s opinion, let’s dive in and examine what the statistics really say about Herbert and Stafford’s 2025 NFL season through the lens of the offensive line.

To start with, the Chargers’ offensive line was among the NFL’s worst in 2025. The Chargers’ O-line left Herbert under constant siege. Los Angeles allowed 60 sacks in 17 games, nearly four per game, one of the highest totals in the league. 

With that, Pro Football Focus ranked the unit 30th in pass-blocking efficiency and second-worst in pass-blocking grade, with pressure coming consistently from both the interior and the edge.

By comparison, the Rams’ offensive line gave the NFL MVP award winner, Stafford, far cleaner pockets. Stafford was sacked 23 times during the regular season, less than half of Herbert’s total. Additionally, PFF credited the Rams with 154 total pressures and just 15 sacks allowed on 624 pass snaps, one of the lower sack totals in the league.

Based on ESPN’s 2025 regular-season statistics, Matthew Stafford finished the year with 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdown passes, and 8 interceptions, while posting a 71.0 Total QBR. Whereas Herbert recorded 3,727 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, with a 60.7 Total QBR. 

Statistically, Stafford held clear advantages in passing volume, scoring production, and that’s what paid off through an NFL MVP award of the 2025 season.

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The post NFL MVP voter breaks silence on shocking Justin Herbert vote after internet meltdown appeared first on The Big Lead.

The NFL Honors presentation was held on Thursday night, and the New England Patriots swept up. Head coach Mike Vrabel was named the Coach of the Year. Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels brought home Assistant of the Year. But in the grandaddy of them all, the MVP award, quarterback Drake Maye came up just short.

It was the closest MVP race since 2003, with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford barely beating out the 23-year-old Maye in his 17th NFL season.

But the most interesting part of the final results wasn’t that Stafford beat Maye by just one first-place vote; it was the fact that three voters in particular chose to use their coveted MVP vote to support a candidate other than the two most deserving.

Only 50 voters in the entire country received a ballot. Of the 50, 24 had Stafford as the winner, and 23 chose Maye.

Two voters decided to side with reigning MVP Josh Allen after he finished outside of the top ten in passing yards.

And one lonely AP voter gave his all-important vote to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who wasn’t even a finalist.

Herbert had the fourth most interceptions in the league, a QBR in the 60s and a double-digit passer rating.

Because the voters’ ballots are anonymous, we are unable to see who finished in second place on these three inexcusible slips. It’s impossible to know for sure if those were Maye votes or not.

A first-place vote is worth 10 points, while a second-place vote is worth five points. Maye lost by a tally of 366 to 361.