John Harbaugh wasn’t going to get involved in the discussion about whether Lamar Jackson should win a third NFL MVP award this season. Instead, he stuck to what was clear.
“He’s my MVP. He’ll always be my MVP — I promise you that,” said the Baltimore coach. “Yes, as far as I’m concerned, he’s our MVP, he’s our guy.”
Local media agreed, naming Jackson as the team MVP in a vote announced on Tuesday — a result that came with no surprise. The bigger question is whether Jackson can win another NFL MVP when the AP vote happens. If he does, he would join an elite group.
Only six players have won that award three times: Peyton Manning (five), Aaron Rodgers (four), Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, and Jim Brown. Players with two MVPs include Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Kurt Warner, Steve Young, and Joe Montana.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen (-300) was the MVP favorite this season, according to BetMGM, with Jackson (+225) as the closest challenger. If Allen wins, he would be the first first-time MVP since Jackson in 2019.
Jackson said last week it’s hard to avoid the MVP conversation since he’s often mentioned in it online.
“If it does happen, it happens. That’d be dope — three times,” Jackson said. “That’s never been my goal though. Even the first or second one, it’s never been my goal. I always want to finish with the championship, but I’ve been falling short.”
This weekend, the Ravens have more pressing matters. They are heavily favored against Cleveland, and a win on Saturday would secure the AFC North title and a home playoff game for Baltimore.
However, Jackson’s personal achievements will be closely watched. He enters the game with a passer rating of 121.6. The league record for a single season is 122.5 by Rodgers in 2011, the year he won MVP.
Jackson might not win it this time, even though he leads Allen in touchdown passes, passing yards, and rushing yards, while throwing fewer interceptions. Last season, Allen outperformed Jackson in passing yards and touchdowns (both passing and rushing), but Jackson won MVP after leading Baltimore to the best regular-season record.
This season, it’s Allen and the Bills (13-3) who will finish ahead of the Ravens (11-5) in playoff seeding. Buffalo lost big to Baltimore in their head-to-head matchup in September, but Allen led the Bills to key victories over Kansas City and Detroit — teams that could end up with the No. 1 seed in their conferences.
It’s no surprise where Jackson’s center, Tyler Linderbaum, stands on the issue.
“You see him every day, the things he’s able to do, and carrying it over to the game. He’s a special player,” Linderbaum said. “He’s extremely fun to play with, just the things he’s able to do. There’s no one more deserving of that award than Lamar Jackson.”
As much as this debate is taking over NFL discussions right now, by the time the award is presented a few days before the Super Bowl, either Jackson or Allen — or possibly both — will have missed out on that goal again.
