Lamar Jackson continues historic MVP push as Ravens handle Texans

Lamar Jackson won his second NFL MVP award last season. He has been even better this season. Much better, amazingly.

We’ve seen shared MVPs before, and that would probably be the most fitting end to the Jackson/Josh Allen MVP run. Allen has been great for the Buffalo Bills and has done everything for an offense that won the AFC East. But Jackson can point to many stats — including a passer rating that challenges the all-time single-season NFL record — and say he’s been better than Allen and also better than his own first two MVP seasons.

Jackson’s brilliance was on display again Wednesday. The Ravens took a step toward winning the AFC North title when they dominated the Houston Texans 31-2. It wasn’t Jackson who carried the team on his back, which we’ve seen a lot throughout his career, but he didn’t do anything to hurt his MVP case. Jackson had two passes and another rushing. After that performance, Jackson’s passer rating is 121.6, not far off Aaron Rodgers’ NFL record of 122.5. Jackson also broke Michael Vick’s record for rushing yards by a quarterback, and he’ll break that record at just 27.

The MVP narrative and the betting odds have been in Allen’s favor the past few weeks. And if Allen wins, he deserves it. It wouldn’t be quite Joel Embiid winning the NBA MVP a few years ago because the voters were tired of giving it to Nikola Jokic every year. But maybe some Jackson voter fatigue will factor in. While Allen has a good case, there’s no good reason to deny Jackson his third MVP. It will be a difficult vote.

Ravens start the blowout early

Jackson has help that he never had throughout his Ravens career. Derrick Henry ensures that Jackson is not alone in the Baltimore offense.

Henry set the tone immediately in Houston. Henry had 86 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter alone. Every time he touched the ball, the Texas defense seemed to part to let him through to the secondary. Henry has been excellent for the Ravens all season and a big part of why they can be very dangerous in the playoffs.

The Ravens gave up two points on a safety when Henry was tackled in the end zone, but the rest of the half was controlled by them. Jackson had a drive where he escaped the rush to hit tight end Mark Andrews for a 67-yard gain and then finished the drive with another magic trick, moving around to avoid the pass rush in what appeared to be like a minute before he found Isaiah Likely in the end zone for the touchdown. Jackson completed just six passes in the first half, in part because the Ravens weren’t in trouble and Henry ran so well, but he had 147 yards on those six passes.

The Ravens led 17-2 at halftime, the first 17-2 halftime score in NFL history, according to the Netflix broadcast. Jackson said he wanted to skip the Ravens’ halftime to watch Beyonce’s halftime performance, but he stayed in the locker room. He probably could have gone out and caught at least a few songs. It’s not like the Ravens had much to worry about. Especially after Jackson had a 48-yard touchdown run to start the scoring in the second half.

Jackson makes his MVP case

Jackson is the best running quarterback the NFL has ever seen and has the record to prove it. Jackson is also one game away from being the fourth quarterback to have a 120 passer rating in a season. It will be very difficult to deny a player with that unfathomable combination of skills an MVP award.

Allen is a similar dual threat, of course. He has 26 touchdown passes to just six interceptions, with 514 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. He has raised his game despite the Bills trading his No. 1 receiver, Stefon Diggs, in the offseason.

Both quarterbacks are similar in that they can pass or run at a dominant level. For a while, it looked like one of Allen’s edges in the voters’ eyes would be that he won a division title and Jackson didn’t, but the Ravens have stormed back and are the new favorite to win the AFC North. The Ravens will win the division with a win next week or a Steelers loss.

Statistically, Jackson Allen leads in rushing yards, passing yards, passer rating and passing touchdowns. Allen leads in rushing touchdowns, and some advanced stats like EPA (expected points added) per game favors Allen. Jackson probably has more help. Allen’s team has the better record. It’s one of the more interesting MVP debates in a while.

The truth is, Jackson’s legacy changes something with a third MVP, but a Super Bowl would do a lot more for it. The Ravens have taken some bad losses this season. But over the last few weeks they are looking more and more like a contender. Blowing out the Texans on Christmas should be a message to the rest of the AFC, and maybe MVP voters as well.