Lamar Jackson Wins 2023 NFL MVP

Lamar Jackson capped off his stellar season by picking up the 2023 NFL MVP award Thursday at the NFL Honors ceremony. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback became the 11th player in league history to win the award for a second time after he captured his first MVP honor in the 2019 season.

Jackson completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,678 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also produced in the running game with 821 rushing yards and five TDs. He guided the Ravens to the No. 1 seed in the AFC this postseason and advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in his career, before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Others deemed finalists for the award with Jackson:

• Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
• Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
• Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
• Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers

The Ravens extended Jackson’s contract last April on a five-year deal worth $260 million, with $185 million guaranteed. The investment paid off with Jackson looking far more like his MVP self of four seasons ago in 2023.

The other 10 players to win the MVP more than once:

• Aaron Rodgers
• Brett Favre
• Jin Brown
• Joe Montana
• Johnny Unitas
• Kurt Warner
• Patrick Mahomes
• Peyton Manning
• Steve Young
• Tom Brady

Why Jackson won

Jackson didn’t emerge as an MVP candidate this season because he led the league in touchdown passes, set rushing records and directed the highest-scoring offense in the NFL. He did all those things in 2019, when he became only the second unanimous MVP in NFL history.

Jackson also didn’t necessarily have his signature MVP moment this season, as he did in 2019 with the spin move and dash to the end zone in Cincinnati or the five touchdown passes in Los Angeles.

What Jackson did produce this season was more evidence that he’s the league’s single most important player to his team’s success. As Hall of Fame quarterback and ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said before a Ravens broadcast this past season, there’s no quarterback asked to do more for his team.

In 2023, Jackson delivered. He showed his growth as a passer, decision-maker and leader, all while learning a completely new offense under first-year Ravens coordinator Todd Monken. He stayed healthy and remained as dangerous as ever as a dual-threat quarterback.

As teams made their playoff pushes in November and December, Jackson was the best player on the field week in and week out. Baltimore outplayed one top team and MVP candidate after another en route to a 13-4 regular season and the AFC’s top seed. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer

Jackson outlasts field

It had been a pretty wild year in terms of forecasting the MVP race. Here’s a list of players who’ve been the favorite to win the award, via BetMGM, at some point in the last year:

• Mahomes
• Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
• Allen
• Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
• Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
• Purdy
• Prescott
• Jackson

There were five shifts atop the odds in a five-week span: Hurts, Prescott/Purdy, Prescott, Purdy and Jackson.

Head-to-head matchups told the story in a wide-open race this season. Jackson performed well against any of the challengers, especially with Purdy. Plus, Jackson was good all season and outstanding to close it. That’s why Jackson captured his second career MVP award. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer

NFL MVP list

Required reading

• 2023 NFL MVP guide: Lamar Jackson and the challenger (almost) no one is talking about
• NFL QB EPA rankings: Lamar Jackson’s atypical route to a probable NFL MVP award
• Your team was not going to get Lamar Jackson, OK?

(Photo: Kathryn Riley / Getty Images)

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