BALTIMORE — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was named the 2023 NFL MVP at the league’s honors ceremony in Las Vegas on Thursday night.
Jackson also won the award in 2019. He was one vote shy of being a unanimous choice.
“I want to thank my organization, the Baltimore Ravens, for finally getting a deal done,” Jackson said about signing a five-year, $260 million contract last May. “Shoutout to Eric [DeCosta, general manager]. Shoutout to Steve [Bisciotti, owner]. Shoutout to Coach [John] Harbaugh.”
The honor was no surprise to his teammates.
“I think if anybody watched the game [or] if anybody watches football this season and watched the Baltimore Ravens, they know for a fact [that] Lamar Jackson is the MVP, hands down,” inside 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 is the 11th player in NFL history to win the award multiple times, joining Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Kurt Warner.
Jackson got 49 of 50 first-place votes, with Bills quarterback Josh Allen getting the other. Allen, San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott were also named finalists for the MVP award.
Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns with career highs in completion percentage (67.2) and yards per completion (8) over 16 regular season games. He also led the Ravens with 821 yards rushing, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and five scores.
Jackson’s seven 50-yard rushing games gave Jackson 54 in his career, tying Michael Vick’s all-time mark for quarterbacks. He also became the first quarterback to run for 700 or more yards in five consecutive seasons, He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Weeks 7 and 17.
Jackson also won the Pro Football Writers of America MVP award. Running back Jamal Lewis is the only other Ravens player to earn that honor, winning in 2003 when he rushed for 2,066 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Jackson led the Ravens to a 13-4 record during the regular season, clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
