The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots have been two of the most pleasant surprises in the NFL this season and that is largely due to their quarterbacks.
Daniel Jones has been a major catalyst in the Colts' 7-2 start and is in the process of reviving his once-dead career, which just goes to show that his issues with the New York Giants were more about the team than Jones himself.
In New England, Drake Maye is taking that next step in his career and has been the driving force behind the Patriots thriving in the first year under head coach Mike Vrabel.
Their respective performances have naturally led many to believe Maye and Jones could be in the running for Most Valuable Player. However, NFL executives don't exactly see it that way.
In a poll compiled by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, neither Jones nor Maye landed as the top vote-getters for the MVP award.
Instead, that went to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had 13 votes as compared to Jones' two and Maye's one.
Quietly, Stafford is having an off-the-charts year. He’s on pace for 4,562 yards and a 45–4 TD-INT ratio, and the Rams are tied for first in the NFC West. He has been incredibly efficient (113.2 rating) and consistent (a 98-or-better rating in seven of eight games), while facing a challenging schedule (the Rams faced the Eagles, Colts, 49ers and Ravens in succession) in a rugged division. Now, this can be a storyline award, and Stafford may lack one that’s new or different for voters to latch onto. But if you want a quarterback who runs an offense at an incredibly high level, while rarely missing a throw, Stafford’s your guy.
Now, lets break it down to see where each of the three quarterbacks rank in major statistical categories.
| Player | Completion % | Yards | TDs | QBR | Rating |
| Daniel Jones | 9th | 1st | 12th | 7th | 11th |
| Drake Maye | 1st | 5th | T-4th | 5th | 2nd |
| Matthew Stafford | 16th | 6th | 1st | 10th | 6th |
Listen, there is no doubt that Stafford is having a fantastic season, but the Rams are right about where we expected them to be. There isn't really even a case to be made for Stafford's stats being better than Maye's or Jones', either.
Meanwhile, the Colts and Patriots have been major surprises, and that is only possible because of the elite level of play from their quarterbacks.
Sure, Jones is aided by one of the best running backs in the NFL in Jonathan Taylor, but let's not pretend that Taylor wasn't productive in worse situations, yet that didn't lead to any success for Indy overall.
Vrabel deserves a lot of credit for what he has done early on in New England, but it goes without saying that the progress Maye has made is the reason for the Patriots being ahead of schedule.
Now, none of this is to say that Stafford doesn't deserve consideration, because he does. But the wide gap in the voting between Stafford, Maye and Jones is just unacceptable.
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