Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is the current betting odds favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award, despite not leading the division.
Stafford and the Rams (11-4) fell to the Seattle Seahawks (12-3) on “Thursday Night Football” in a shootout that ended with Seattle converting a successful two-point try in overtime.
Stafford completed 29 of 49 passes for 457 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s the most passing yards for Stafford since 2013.
According to Bet MGM odds entering Week 16, Stafford was the favorite to win the award at -300, ahead of Drake Maye (+300) and Josh Allen (+425).
Stafford’s odds took a hit after Thursday, despite throwing for 457 yards, because the Rams fell behind in the standings. He now is at -225.
Matthew Stafford would be one of three quarterbacks to win MVP and not division
The Seahawks assumed control of the NFC West on Thursday, while the San Francisco 49ers are not far behind at 10-4 and scheduled to play the Indianapolis Colts on “Monday Night Football.”
According to the Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi, only three quarterbacks have won MVP while playing for a team that didn’t win its division: Peyton Manning in 2008, Steve McNair as a co-MVP that same year, and Johnny Unitas in 1967, when the Colts went 11-1-2 but missed the playoffs.
Stafford has separated himself statistically from the rest of the field.
He leads the NFL with 4,179 passing yards and 40 touchdowns while throwing just five interceptions, owns a league-best 112.1 passer rating, and has 20 more passing first downs than any other quarterback. He also has 11 more touchdown passes than the next closest player, making him clear standout at the position this season, even in a down year for overall passing production.