Lamar Jackson Named Near-Unanimous MVP

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has been named the 2023 NFL MVP in a landslide vote. Jackson received 49 of 50 first-place votes to earn him since second career MVP award. Dak Prescott and Christian McCaffery finished a distant second and third respectively. Josh Allen earned the other first-place vote. Preseason favorite for the award Patrick Mahomes finished 7th with just six total votes. However, Mahomes will play for a Super Bowl after beating Jackson and the Ravens two weeks ago in the AFC Championship.

Jackson becomes the ninth multi-time MVP of the Super Bowl era but stands alone as the only one in the club without a ring. However, Jackson's 2023 MVP season is a unique one. Finishing 11th in touchdown passes and 15th in passing yards, Jackson became the first QB MVP to finish outside the top ten in both metrics. However, Jackson, who led the Ravens to a 13-4 record and an AFC Championship Game appearance, earned the award by proving he could take down the best. 10 of the Ravens' 13 victories would come against teams who finished the season with a winning record. Jackson also had 821 rushing yards, his highest mark since a 1005-yard season in 2020.

Lamar Jackson: From Holdout To MVP

Of course, there is some much more than unorthodox stats that define this season for Jackson. In the run-up to week one, Jackson was on the verge of demanding a trade out of Baltimore. That would not come to pass as Jackson finally landed a lucrative five-year extension and didn't miss any games for the team.

Furthermore, Jackson made sure to make it clear that he saw his award as a team effort. "I want to thank my organization, the Baltimore Ravens, for finally getting the deal done. My offense [and] offensive line, I can't thank them enough for what they've done. I'm not out there blocking and catching the ball and doing everything. It's a team thing for these awards," Jackson said while accepting the award.

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