John Harbaugh had no intention of wading into the debate over whether Lamar Jackson should win a third NFL MVP award this season.
Instead, he stuck to the obvious.
“He’s my most valuable player. He will always be my most valuable player, I promise you,” said the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Yes, as far as I’m concerned, he’s our most valuable player, he’s our guy. »
Local media acquiesced, unsurprisingly honoring Jackson with the team’s Most Valuable Player award in the vote announced Tuesday. The biggest question is whether Jackson can win another NFL Most Valuable Player award. If so, he would be joining a pretty impressive select club.
Only six players have won the honor at least three times: Peyton Manning (five), Aaron Rodgers (four), Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas and Jim Brown. Players with two titles are Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Kurt Warner, Steve Young and Joe Montana.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (-300) was the favorite this season, according to BetMGM, with Jackson (+225) the only particularly close rival. If Allen wins, he would be the first player to win the honor for the first time since Jackson in 2019.
Jackson said last week that it’s hard to avoid the MVP conversation since he’s often associated with it.
“If it happens, it happens. That would be great – three times, Jackson admitted. But that was never my goal. Even the first or second, that was never my goal. I always wanted to finish with the championship, but I didn’t manage to win it. »
This weekend, the Ravens have bigger concerns. They are heavily favored against the Cleveland Browns, and a victory would give them the NL North title, which would be a home playoff game.
-But Jackson’s individual achievements will also be closely followed. He will enter the game with an efficiency rating of 121.6. The league single-season record is 122.5, set by Rodgers in 2011, the first time he was named Most Valuable Player.
Jackson might not win the title, despite being ahead of Allen in touchdown passes, passing yards, rushing yards and throwing fewer interceptions.
Last season, Allen beat Jackson in passing yards and touchdowns (passing and rushing), but Jackson won MVP after leading the Ravens to their best regular season record.
This season, it is Allen and the Bills (13-3) who will finish ahead of the Ravens (11-5) in the standings. The Bills lost to the Ravens in September, but Allen led the Bills to decisive victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions – teams that could both finish first in their conference.
Jackson’s teammate Tyler Linderbaum obviously has a strong stance on the issue.
“You see it every day, the things he can do. He’s a special player,” Linderbaum said. He’s extremely fun to play with. No one deserves this honor more than Lamar Jackson. »
As much as this debate occupies NFL discussions right now, by the time the award is presented a few days before the Super Bowl, either Jackson or Allen – or perhaps both – will not yet have achieved their ultimate goal.
