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Matthew Stafford #9 of the Los Angeles Rams throws a pass against the Atlanta Falcons during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 29, 2025. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford added two more accolades to his MVP-caliber season.
Stafford was named NFC Player of the Week on Jan. 7 after his three-touchdown performance. On Jan. 8, he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for December-January. The 37-year-old signal-caller leads the league in both passing yards and touchdowns as he leads the Rams into the postseason.
Stafford earned Player of the Week honors for leading the Rams to a 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. He went 25 of 40 passing for 259 yards and 4 touchdowns. The win ended a two-game losing streak and helped the Rams lock up the 5-seed in the NFC playoffs. Stafford became the third player to pass for multiple touchdowns in 15 games in a season, after Peyton Manning’s record 2013 season with the Denver Broncos and Dan Marino with the Miami Dolphins in 1984.
It was his fourth career Player of the Week award and his first since 2021.
Stafford garnered the Player of the Month award for his performance in the final five weeks of the season. He threw for 1,634 and 14 touchdowns in the final month; it was the second time in his career he broke the 1,600-yard and 14 TD barrier in the final five weeks—the first was with the Detroit Lions in 2011—and he is the only player in league history to have done so. It is also his second career Player of the Month; he earned the first one in November.
While it is not a recognized league award, Stafford earned a third accolade this week when he was named the Rams’ Most Valuable Player.
Stafford made a convincing case to earn the MVP of the league this season. He completed 388 of 597 pass attempts for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns—both of which are best in the NFL—against just 8 interceptions. He was named to the third Pro Bowl of his career. He also passed Marino for 7th place in career passing touchdowns in league history, and Matt Ryan for 6th place in career completions. He led the Rams to a 12-5 finish and second place in the high-achieving and hotly contested NFC West.
His accomplishments were not readily apparent when the season began. He was noncommittal on returning for his 17th season after losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs last January, and spent the early part of the offseason shopping himself to different teams, namely the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, before finally agreeing to a reworked deal to stay in Los Angeles.
His season was also threatened by a back injury that kept him out of most of the offseason program.
“There were some lean moments, you know, touch-and-go there for a little bit,” Stafford said at a Jan. 6 news conference.
“I had a lot of conversations with [Senior Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] and his group, with [head coach] Sean [McVay] and them, and just trying to figure out what’s best. A lot of treatments and things that I did to try and help myself get to this point. Didn’t know if I would get there. But I went out there, and it was kind of wait-and-see ... and luckily it turned out pretty good.”
Stafford was humble about his accomplishments.
“I just wanted to play as good as I possibly [could] this year, like I do every season. I have great football players around me, coaches around me that put myself and our offense in the opportunity to succeed,” he said.
“So we were able to do that. And as far as what it feels like at this point in my career, I don’t know. I’ve been playing this game for a long time. I appreciate it. But I don’t know that it feels different now. I’m sure I'll think about it sometime down the road, but not thinking about it at the moment.”
Stafford and the Rams will look to punctuate their success with a win in the Wild Card round against the Carolina Panthers on Jan. 11.
John Rigolizzo is a writer from South Jersey. He previously wrote for the Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Campus Reform, and the America First Policy Institute.
