Christmas night saw multiple MVP candidates take the field. Following the Baltimore Ravens' 33-19 beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers, one was left standing.
Lamar Jackson shined, ripping apart a good Niners defense to the tune of 252 pass yards, two passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a 105.9 passer rating. Jackson also led Baltimore with 45 yards rushing on seven totes.
The raw stats are solid, but Jackson brings so much more to the table than a good box score, turning negative plays into positive ones with regularity.
"I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said via the team's official website. "It takes a team to create a performance like that, but it takes a player to play at that level -- to play at an MVP level -- it takes a player to play that way. And Lamar was all over the field doing everything."
Jackson dismissed his performance as nothing more than getting a pivotal win in the quest for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
"We got the 'dub.' I really don't care about [my] performance," Jackson said. "I just want to win, and that's what happened tonight. On Christmas, that was my gift."
Jackson improved to 6-0 in his career versus top-five scoring defenses on the road (scoring defense rank entering that game) -- the Ravens have averaged 26.5 points per game in those six games.
Monday night, the quarterback overcame pressure all game, escaping the pocket to make throws and turning would-be losses into gains. His season-long 30-yard scramble set up an end-of-half field goal to extend the Ravens lead. On Baltimore's first drive of the third quarter, Jackson found space to get a release toss to Gus Edwards for a 39-yard gain. Two plays later, the QB again extended the play, kept his eyes downfield and found Nelson Agholor for a six-yard TD, and the rout was on.
Jackson might not be concerned about MVP talk following the Ravens' most impressive win of the season, but his teammates were willing to stomp for their leader.
"He can do everything. You [saw] it tonight," rookie receiver Zay Flowers said. "He ran it; he threw it; he led the team. That's the MVP."
"Lamar Jackson is the MVP, hands down," linebacker Roquan Smith said. "Anyone that watches football and knows football and can see the type of impact he has on the game -- not even stat-wise, but just individually, the plays that he makes quarter in and quarter out, play in and play out. Compare his film to anyone else in the league. Then, I would love to hear what anyone else has to say after that."
Jackson was the unanimous NFL MVP in 2019, but Baltimore's season ended with a Divisional Round exit despite holding the No. 1 seed. The QB's focus this time around is solely on postseason success.
"We know what it was in 2019 when we were playing against [teams] like this [and] winning regular season games. When the time came, we didn't finish the season," Jackson said. "We're just going to keep taking it a day at a time, a practice at a time and a game at a time. That's all I'm focused on right now."
