Lamar Jackson’s emphatic finish to the 2023 season has earned him the NFL’s greatest honor.
The Ravens quarterback was named 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player on Thursday at NFL Honors at Resorts World, marking the second time he’s won the award after he took home the honor following the 2019 season.
Jackson’s award was one of the least surprising of all honors distributed on Thursday.
He finished in the top five in a number of key passing metrics, including passing yards per attempt (8), touchdown-to-interception ratio (24-7) and passer rating (102.7) while also ending the year atop the quarterbacks leaderboard for rushing yards (821). Thanks to a white-hot final six weeks — including stellar showings in dominant victories over San Francisco and Miami — Jackson ran away with an award that was far from settled entering December, but became a foregone conclusion by January.
Jackson separated himself from a congested pack by excelling in the biggest moments, recording 10 wins and 26 offensive touchdowns against teams with records of .500 or better, leading the NFL in both categories. In the process, he became the first quarterback with 10-plus wins in a single season against such teams since 1950, and made the Ravens the favorite to win the AFC entering the postseason.
Baltimore ultimately fell short of that goal, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game in a shockingly frustrating outing for Jackson and the Ravens, who mustered just 10 points in the home defeat to the reigning Super Bowl champions. Following the loss, only one consolation prize remained for Baltimore — MVP — which Jackson secured on Thursday.
The 27-year-old Jackson became the second-youngest player to win multiple MVPs, sneaking past Brett Favre and Patrick Mahomes by mere months into a place behind Jim Brown, who had two MVPs in his trophy case before he’d turned 23. It’s elite company, which Jackson certainly deserved to join.
The most important element — a Super Bowl appearance and/or victory — remains missing from his resume. But with Jackson only just entering his prime at 27 years old, the Ravens are lucky to call one of the NFL’s most thrilling talents their own. And now, they can call him a two-time MVP.
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