As the final seconds ticked off the clock to end a Baltimore 56-19 route of the Miami Dolphins, the fans at M&T Bank Stadium chanted MVP for quarterback Lamar Jackson even though he had already been taken out of the blowout.
“Lamar Jackson’s been showing that to you guys all year long. It’s great to know that he’s finally getting chants of ‘MVP. MVP.’ [It’s] well-deserved and well earned,” Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely said.
The chants started early in the game, perhaps a little too early for Jackson’s liking.
”I was thinking, ‘We need to finish this game.’ I’m not really paying attention to the chants,” Jackson said. “Last year, the score was looking like that at halftime and stuff like that and [in the] third quarter. Then, those guys started making plays, and we didn’t do anything, but the only thing on my mind was to finish the game, and we did.”
Would you expect anything less from a guy like Jackson whose razor-sharp focus is only on winning? One thing was clear. Jackson was the best player on the field once again.
“Lamar Jackson’s performance was even better than last week. He played a great football game,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “He played a perfect football game in terms of the passing game. He was just on point.”
The Dolphins have wide receiver Tyreek Hill, their own MVP candidate. But Jackson showed everyone who the real MVP is. Jackson’s five touchdown passes and 321 passing yards in a game that determined supremacy in the AFC should be enough to earn him his second league MVP.
Just two weeks ago Jackson led the Ravens to a 33-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers on the road, courtesy of two touchdowns and 252 passing yards from Jackson. The 49ers have two MVP candidates in quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey. Neither of them were able to outshine Jackson. Turning in top level performances against top teams like the 49ers and Dolphins now has Baltimore as the team to beat. The road to the Super Bowl runs through M&T Bank Stadium.
The MVP award has a lot to do with statistics which is an area that Jackson hasn’t turned in results like the 2019 season when he won the MVP award, but Baltimore receiver Odell Beckham Jr. thinks Jackson’s MVP candidacy goes beyond the numbers.
“There is no debating. I think you look too much into statistics and all of that,” Beckham said. “I don’t even know exactly what the numbers are, but we’re talking about a guy that’s up for the MVP candidate. The way that [Lamar Jackson] leads this team. The way that he … He just always keeps us alive, and the energy that he has every day coming into work – he’s our general. He’s our leader. He’s just done a phenomenal job this season.”
The MVP award is supposed to go to the player who’s worth to the team is more than any other player in the league. Although backup quarterback Tyler Huntley has been impressive at times, it’s hard to imagine Baltimore being the same without Jackson working his magic on game day.
Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike said it best.
“MVP! Nothing else to be said. Nothing else.”
