Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson walked off the field at M&T Bank Stadium to chants of “MVP! MVP!” After Jackson outdueled New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the Ravens hung 37 points on the league’s top defense in points allowed, those fans seem to be on to something.
Jackson has been downplaying the MVP talk, telling reporters he’s already moving on to Cincinnati for Week 10 and eyeing up a Super Bowl run instead. But that isn’t stopping his teammates from leading the charge for him.
Safety Earl Thomas said Jackson is playing “MVP-type football.” Wide receiver Willie Snead said teams “can’t handle Lamar.”
Snead’s assessment has been proved correct all season. Teams simply can’t consistently handle what Jackson brings to the table. Jackson’s speed and quick-cut ability make him dangerous even when he’s surrounded. But that also translates into defenses being caught peeking in the backfield, opening things up in the passing game.
If Jackson can keep on the same pace in the second half of the season, he’ll finish with 3,626 passing yards, 24 touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, 1,274 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. While Jackson’s stats don’t necessarily point to an open-and-shut case at MVP, voters are going to have a tough time deciding if they should buck trends.
Typically, the NFL MVP award has gone to the quarterback with the best passing stats. That’s something Jackson almost assuredly won’t have this season. But if voters take the MVP award to actually mean the Most Valuable Player, Jackson makes a really solid case given his performances each week.
In just the last two games, Jackson has outplayed both Brady and Russell Wilson — MVP candidates this year — in their own style of play. Jackson ran around, making defenders miss and extending plays with his legs only to find open receivers against Seattle. Against New England, Jackson kept the passing attack to quick short and intermediate throws, leading his receivers into bigger gains after the catch. In both games, Jackson dazzled as a runner too, picking up large chunks of yards when he should have been sacked.
Jackson’s stats might not make him the obvious choice for MVP but if you do a simple Google search, you’d believe he was at the top of the conversation at the midpoint of the season. And regardless of how little he wants to talk about it, plenty of people who make the decision are.
