Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been named the league’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in his six-year career. The award, which was nearly unanimous, was announced at the league’s NFL Honors awards show in Las Vegas on Feb. 8.
Jackson emerged as the MVP front-runner after leading the Ravens to a 13-4 record that included resounding late-season wins against other MVP candidates including Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy and San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey.
In the final MVP voting by the Associated Press, Jackson received 49 of 50 first-place votes. Josh Allen received one first-place vote, and Jackson placed third on that ballot. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott placed second in the MVP voting, followed by McCaffrey.
Jackson, who turned 27 in January, becomes the 11th player to win multiple league MVP awards, but he is the only one among that group in the Super Bowl era who has yet to reach the Super Bowl. (Cleveland running back Jim Brown was a three-time MVP between 1957 and 1965, before the Super Bowl began.)
The Ravens fell a game short, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game. Jackson committed two turnovers in that game and the offense scuffled throughout a 17-10 loss.
The award as the league’s best player capped a momentous year for Jackson, who 10 months ago publicly requested to be traded in the midst of contentious contract negotiations. But the team and Jackson ultimately agreed to a five-year, $260 million deal that made him at the time the highest-paid player in league history in terms of average annual value.
In his acceptance speech at the NFL Honors show, Jackson with a chuckle thanked the Ravens for “finally getting a deal done,” then also thanked team owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Eric DeCosta, head coach John Harbaugh and the other players on the Ravens’ offense. “It’s a team thing for these awards,” he said.
Armed with that new contract, Jackson led the Ravens to the AFC North title for the third time in his six seasons.
Jackson stayed healthy throughout the season for the first time in three years, and operating a new offense under first-year coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson had his most productive season as a passer.
He completed 307 of 457 passes for 3,678 yards, setting career highs in all three categories. His completion percentage of .672 was also a career best.
With a revamped receiver corps featuring rookie Zay Flowers, All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr., Rashod Bateman and veteran acquisition Nelson Agholor, along with All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews and emergent tight end Isaiah Likely, Jackson threw 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 102.7. That was the second highest of his career, bettered only in 2019 (113.3), when he was the league’s unanimous MVP.
The only quarterback in NFL history with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Jackson continued to make an impact on the ground as well. He didn’t run as often in 2023 as some previous years, but Jackson led the Ravens in rushing for the fifth straight season with 821 yards on 148 carries. He ran for five touchdowns.
Jackson might have locked up the league MVP Award in Week 17 against Miami. Facing another team competing for top seed in the AFC, Jackson completed 18 of 21 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-19 Ravens romp.
Jackson enjoyed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in that game, the third such mark of his career. Only four other players in league history have accomplished that (min. 15 passes): Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner.
Jackson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after that performance, and he had also earned that honor after Week 7, when he shredded the Detroit Lions. Jackson in that game went 21-for-27 for a season-high 357 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown in a 38-6 Ravens win.
Still, after rolling through the regular season, Jackson again tripped up in the playoffs. In his career, Jackson is 58-19 as a starter in the regular season, and his winning percentage of .753 is the best in the league since he became the starter midway through the 2018 season.
Twice Jackson has led the Ravens to the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but those two seasons produced a combined total of just one playoff win. His playoff record now stands at 2-4, adding fuel to his critics who continue to dissect every flaw.
His teammates, though, aren’t buying it.
“I don’t really care about the opinions of (Jackson) nor the team, at the end of the day,” linebacker Roquan Smith said after the AFC championship game loss. “He’s the leader of this team. … It’s not a one-man show by any means. It’s a team thing. It’s a team that gets the job done.”
Safety Kyle Hamilton also dismissed the critics, saying, “I don’t think Lamar cares, nor do I care, what other people have to say outside of this building. … There are a lot of people out there hoping for people like Lamar to fail, but we all know that he’s the best player in the league, and I’m glad to have him on our team.”
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