Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson added several highlight-reel plays to his NFL Most Valuable Player case in a 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Monday, Jackson turned in a near-perfect performance at Raymond James Stadium, picking apart the Buccaneers’ defense through the air and on the ground. He finished the game throwing for 281 yards and five touchdowns while additionally rushing for 52 yards on nine carries.
Once the dust had finally settled on the Ravens’ blowout victory, Jackson recorded as many touchdown tosses (five) as incompletions, connecting on 17-of-22 passes with a 158.1 passer rating. The dominant performance marked the fifth game of his career in which the 27-year-old amassed five passing touchdowns after most recently accomplishing the feat against the Miami Dolphins last season.
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Following the game, Jackson shared a heartwarming moment with teammate Justin Tucker. As the former took part in an on-field interview, the kicker video-bombed the conversation and could be seen mouthing the letters "MVP" in the background.
Entering play Monday, Jackson boasted the second-best NFL MVP odds at +500 on FanDuel Sportsbook, placing him in a tie with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (+500) and close behind Kansas City Chiefs signal-caller Patrick Mahomes (+370). When comparing the trio’s stats this year, however, one player clearly stands out.
Though Mahomes has successfully commanded the Chiefs to a perfect 6-0 record, his personal numbers hardly jump off the page. The 29-year-old has completed 127-of-187 passes for 1,389 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions - tied with Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love and Las Vegas Raiders’ Gardner Minshew II for the most thrown this season.
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Getty Images)Through the first six weeks, Jackson has outpaced Mahomes in passing yards (1,529) and total touchdowns (12), while also being more careful with the football, only throwing two interceptions.
Despite Jackson’s stellar start to the 2024 campaign, the two-time MVP asserted that his focus is not centered on winning the award again. Should he accomplish the three peat this season, he’d become the youngest player in the history of the NFL to do so - joining Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers as the only players to ever win three MVPs.
"I really don't care about the hype," Jackson told reporters on Thursday. "I'm not going to dwell on an MVP trophy or anything like that. I never have.
“Even when I won it, I never dwelled on it. It was about me just trying to win each and every game I'm in. And same thing from now, I'm still trying to win these games to get to February and win in February."
As for what’s led to Jackson’s excellence this year, he added: "I just feel like everything is slowing down even more. Just from the [seven] years I've been in the league and seeing all types of defenses, seeing all types of blitzes. Everything is just second nature right now. So I'm just trying to be a better player myself each and every year."
