NFL Honors 2026: Highlights and best moments as Matthew Stafford wins MVP

SAN FRANCISCO -- Matthew Stafford didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but he did get a nice consolation prize on Thursday night when he was named MVP of the 2025 NFL season in an announcement that was made at the 15th annual NFL Honors ceremony.

In one of the tightest races in NFL history, Stafford edged Drake Maye to earn the first MVP award of his career. Stafford beat out the Patriots quarterback by just five points, making it the closest MVP voted since 2003 when Steve McNair and Peyton Manning tied for the award.

There are a total of 50 voters and 47 of them put either Stafford or Maye on top of their ballot. Here was the final tally for the MVP vote:

1. Matthew Stafford: 366 points (24 first-place votes)

2. Drake Maye: 361 (23)

3. Josh Allen 91 (2)

4. Christian McCaffrey 71 (0)

5. Trevor Lawrence 49 (0)

Justin Herbert actually received a first-place vote and the vote was so close if that person had put Maye in first place and Herbert in second on his ballot, then Maye would have won MVP over Stafford. In the end, not only did Stafford win, but he capped off his acceptance speech by announcing that he would definitely be returning for the 2026 season.

Stafford brought his four daughters on stage and that's when he revealed that he was coming back for at least one more year.

"I can't wait to have you cheer me on next year when we're out there kicking ass, so I'll see you guys next year and hopefully I'm not at this event and we're getting ready for another game at SoFi," the Rams QB said.

Stafford led the NFL with a career-high 46 touchdown passes that also set the Rams' franchise record.

Patriots' night gets better

Drake Maye didn't get voted MVP, but the Patriots did have a big night. In another tight race, Mike Vrabel was able to walk away with the Coach of the Year award. Going into the night, this was one of the few awards that felt wide open and Vrabel ended up taking home the award. The Patriots coach earned just three more first-place votes than Jacksonville's Liam Coen, who finished second in the voting.

Vrabel also won the Coach of the Year in 2021 while in Tennessee making him just the seventh coach ever to win the award with multiple teams. With the Patriots getting set to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Vrabel wasn't on hand to accept the award, but he did make an appearance in a video. The Patriots also made a tribute video for their first-year head coach.

During his first year in New England, Vrabel became the first coach in NFL history to inherit 13-loss team and win at least 13 games in his first year. He's also won 17 games with the Patriots this season, including the playoffs, which is tied with George Siefert for the most in NFL history for a coach in his first year with the team.

Vrabel will now try to cap off his Coach of the Year season with a Super Bowl win on Sunday against the Seahawks.

Patriots do end up getting a Hall of Fame call

Going into Thursday night, the biggest story revolving around the Hall of Fame was the fact that both Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft got snubbed. Although they didn't get in, the Patriots did have one Hall of Famer and that's Adam Vinatieri. The NFL's all-time leading scorer became just the third kicker in NFL history to be voted into the Hall of Fame, joining Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud.

Vinatieri was one of five players voted into the Hall of Fame this year and here's the full class:

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

Adam Vinatieri

Drew Brees

Roger Craig

Craig spent eight of his 11 career seasons with the 49ers and he got one of the biggest cheers of the night when his name was announced at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (For more on this year's Hall of Fame class, we have a full story here)

Christian McCaffrey came close to winning two awards

With NFL Honors being held in San Francisco, It ended up being a solid night for 49ers fans. Not only did Craig get into the Hall of Fame, but McCaffrey ended up being voted Comeback Player of the Year. McCaffrey was a finalist for three different awards and although he only came away with the CPOY, he came close to winning the Offensive Player of the Year award. McCaffrey was beat out by Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks receiver earned 14 first-place votes, putting him just ahead of McCaffrey, who got 12.

Although it was a solid night for the 49ers, they did catch a stray from host Jon Hamm. During his opening monologue, Hamm made a joke about the fact that the 49ers' practice facility is located next to an electrical substation.

Like any host, Hamm had a few jokes that were funny (and a few that bombed), but he also did a good job of keeping the show moving along, which is always a good thing in a show like this.

With that in mind, here's a rundown of every award that was handed out.

AP Most Valuable Player: Rams QB Matthew Stafford (Full story)

AP Offensive Player of the Year: Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Full story)

AP Defensive Player of the Year: Browns DE Myles Garrett (Full story)

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Browns LB Carson Schwesinger (Full story)

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan (Full story)

Protector of the Year: Bears G Joe Thuney (Full story)

AP Comeback Player of the Year: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (Full story)

NFL AP Coach of the Year: Patriots coach Mike Vrabel (Full story)

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026: Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, Drew Brees and Roger Craig (Full story)

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Bobby Wagner (Full story)

Next Gen Stats: Caleb Williams 46-yard overtime pass to D.J. Moore (You can see the play here)

John Breech and Tyler Sullivan spent Thursday camped out at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and you can check out all their updates from the night below.

Updates

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NFL Honors is over: Recapping the awards

The show is officially over and we'll have a full recap a little bit later, but for now let's take a quick look at all the award winners from tonight:

AP Most Valuable Player: Matthew Stafford

NFL AP Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

AP Defensive Player of the Year: Browns DE Myles Garrett

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan

Protector of the Year: Bears G Joe Thuney

AP Comeback Player of the Year: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey

NFL AP Coach of the Year: Patriots coach Mike Vrabel

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger

Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year: Bobby Wagner

Best moment: Caleb Williams to D.J. Moore

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026: Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, Drew Brees and Roger Craig

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Matthew Stafford is returning for another season

The Rams QB closed out his MVP acceptance speech by noting that he's already excited to be out there next year and "kicking ass."

"I can't wait to have you cheer me on next year when we're out there kicking ass, so I'll see you guys next year and hopefully I'm not at this event and we're getting ready for another game at SoFi," the Rams QB said.

So Stafford is coming back.

Stafford was mum about his future when asked about if he would be retiring after the Rams' NFC title loss to the Seahawks, but now, he's definitely coming back.

The MVP vote was a nail-biter with Stafford earning 24 first-place votes compared to 23 for Drake Maye.

1. Matthew Stafford: 366 points (24 first-place votes)

2. Drake Maye: 361 (23)

3. Josh Allen 91 (2)

4. Christian McCaffrey 71 (0)

5. Trevor Lawrence 49 (0)

Justin Herbert received a first-place voted, but didn't crack the top five.

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Rams QB Matthew Stafford wins NFL MVP

2026 NFL Honors: Matthew Stafford named MVP over Drake Maye, becomes oldest QB to win award for first time

Tyler Sullivan

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2025 NFL MVP: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford didn't make it to the Super Bowl, but he did get a nice consolation prize on Thursday night when he was named MVP of the 2025 NFL season.

He's the oldest first-time winner in NFL history.

Stafford just finished his 17th NFL season and before this year, there had only been ONE year in his career where he even received a single MVP vote. It's been a long time coming for Stafford, who brought his four daughters up on stage to accept his award.

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OPOY Race was the closest of the night so far

Jaxon Smith-Njigba took home the OPOY award, but it was a close one. JSN got 14 first-place votes, finishing just ahead of Christian McCaffrey, who got 12.

Here's a look at the point-total for the award:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 272 points (14 first-place votes)

Christian McCaffrey: 223 (12)

Puka Nacua: 170 (8)

Bijan Robinson: 168 (6)

Drake Maye: 58 (5)

Once again, voters put five names on their ballot and the points are distributed on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis (10 points for first place, five points for second place and so on).

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Offensive player of the year winner: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

We finally have a Seahawks player taking home an award and that's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was voted OPOY after a 2025 season that saw him lead the NFL in receiving yards.

JSN is the fifth player ever to lead the NFL in receiving yards and play in the Super Bowl in the same season and the good news for him is that the previous four players all won a Lombardi Trophy.

And one more thing, if you've ever struggled to pronounce Smith-Njigba's name, don't worry, you're in the same club as Druski.

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Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba wins Offensive Player of the Year

2026 NFL Honors: Jaxon Smith-Njigba claims Offensive Player of the Year award after record-setting season

Tyler Sullivan

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Larry Fitzgerald's Hall of Fame door knock from Randy Moss

When you get voted into the Hall of Fame, you don't actually know you've been voted in until someone comes and knocks on your door. Randy Moss is the one who knocked on Fitzgerald's door and you can check it out below.

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Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger

The Cleveland Browns have swept the defensive awards. Not only did Myles Garrett win Defensive Player of the Year, but Carson Schwesinger has been voted Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Browns linebacker led all rookies this season in both tackles (146) and tackles for a loss (11).

Schwesinger dominated the vote, taking home 40 of 50 first-place votes. No other finalist got more than seven first-place votes.

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Browns LB Carson Schwesinger wins Defensive Rookie of the Year

2026 NFL honors: Carson Schwesinger named Defensive Rookie of the Year after incredible season with Browns

Jordan Dajani

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Hall of Fame tradition like no other

When a player gets voted into the Hall of Fame, the HOF finds someone to inform them they've been inducted by having them knock on their door. The videos will be coming out soon, but here's who knocked on the door of each of the new inductees

Here's when Roger Craig found out he was getting in.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame class announced: Brees, Fitzgerald among inductees

Pro Football Hall of Fame 2026: Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Roger Craig headline five-member induction class

Bryan DeArdo

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Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2026

Here is your Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2026:

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

Adam Vinatieri

Roger Craig

Quick notes: It has be special for Craig to announced during a ceremony that is taking place in San Francisco. Craig spent eight of his 11 seasons with the 49ers. And although the Patriots didn't get Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft in, they did get one legend in: Adam Vinatieri.

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Moment of the year: Caleb Williams to D.J. Moore

One interesting award they give out every year is the PLAY OF THE YEAR. And for the 2025 season, that award goes to the walk-off touchdown pass that Caleb Williams threw to D.J. Moore.

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Mike Vrabel's acceptance speech

With the Patriots playing in the Super Bowl, Vrabel obviously couldn't attend the ceremony tonight, but he did record an acceptance speech earlier today, so let's check it out.

The Patriots also shared their own video where several players showed some love for their head coach.

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NFL Honors recap: All the awards we've seen so far

We're officially one hour into the show and if you missed the first hour, don't worry, we've got you covered here. Let's take a look at the five awards that have been handed out so far:

AP Defensive Player of the Year: Browns DE Myles Garrett (Full story)

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan (Full story)

Protector of the Year: Bears G Joe Thuney (Full story)

AP Comeback Player of the Year: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey (Full story)

NFL AP Coach of the Year: Patriots coach Mike Vrabel (Full story)

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Joe Thuney wins inaugural Protector of the Year award

2026 NFL Honors: Bears lineman Joe Thuney wins inaugural Protector of the Year award

Tyler Sullivan

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Mike Vrabel wins Coach of the Year

2026 NFL Honors: Mike Vrabel named Coach of the Year after leading historic turnaround with Patriots

Tyler Sullivan

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Coach of the year award goes to: Mike Vrabel

Going into the night, this was one of the few awards that felt wide open and MIKE VRABEL ended up winning. And based on what he did this year, he definitely deserved it.

Was first head coach to inherit 13-loss team and win 13 games in first year

Second ever to reach Super Bowl as player and head coach for same team

17-3 as Patriots head coach, including playoffs (tied with 1989 George Seifert for most wins in 1st season with team all-time)

This is the second time Vrabel has won the award following his 2021 win with the Titans. Vrabel is just the seventh coach ever to win the award with multiple teams.

here's the breakdown of the voting for COY:

1. Mike Vrabel: 302 points (19 first-place votes)

2. Liam Coen: 239 (16)

3. Mike Macdonald: 191 (8)

4. Ben Johnson: 145 (1)

5. Kyle Shanahan: 140 (6)

Vrabel got just three more first-place votes than Coen.

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