Ravens QB Lamar Jackson wins 2nd career NFL MVP award،
Although the season ultimately didn't live up to his expectations, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson still made NFL history during the NFL Honors Ceremony Thursday night in winning the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award for the second time.
At 27, Jackson is the youngest two-time NFL MVP since the merger, beating out Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes by just over nine months.
Jackson was the overwhelming winner, receiving 49 of 50 first-place votes, finding himself just shy of another unanimous selection. For the 2019 season, Jackson joined Tom Brady as the only players to receive all 50 first-place MVP votes.
“I want to thank my organization, the Baltimore Ravens, for finally getting the deal done,” said Jackson, who signed a five-year, $260 million contract nine months ago.
“My offense [and] offensive line, I can't thank them enough for what they did. I'm not here to block and catch the ball and do everything. It’s a team thing for these awards.”
The other first-place vote for MVP this season went to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who finished fifth in the voting.
Jackson, who lost to Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, is the ninth player to win multiple NFL MVP awards in the Super Bowl era, but he is the only one not to win one. Super Bowl. Other players who have won more than one NFL MVP since 1967 are: Peyton Manning (five), Aaron Rodgers (four), Tom Brady (three), Brett Favre (three), Mahomes (two), Joe Montana ( two) and Steve Young (two).
When Jackson won MVP in 2019, he led the NFL in touchdown passes with 36 and set the single-season rushing record by a quarterback with 1,206 yards. This time, Jackson won the award because he was the best player on the league's most dominant team in the regular season.
In addition to setting career highs with 3,678 passing yards and a 67.2 completion rate, he was the driving force behind a Ravens team that finished with the best record in the NFL at 13-4. He is the third quarterback since the 1970 merger to win the MVP without a 1,000-yard rusher or 1,000-yard receiver, joining John Elway (1987) and Favre (1996).
But Jackson also went against the grain. He finished 11th with 24 touchdown passes and 15th in passing yards (3,678) to become the first MVP to rank outside the top 10 in both categories.
Jackson stood out from the rest of the candidates by playing his best against the best, recording 10 wins against teams that finished with winning records. That's the most by a quarterback in a single season since at least 2000, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“It’s an honor to be among the greatest of all time,” Jackson said on the Ravens website. “To do things like this is incredible. I never thought I would be a two-time MVP. If anything, I thought I would be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback by now.
“I still have things to prove to the naysayers. But I need the naysayers to continue [and] keep fueling that fire so I can continue to be Lamar Jackson.”
Earlier Thursday night, running back Christian McCaffrey became the first San Francisco 49ers player to win AP Offensive Player of the Year since Jerry Rice in 1993. In his second season with San Francisco , McCaffrey led the NFL in both rushing yards (1,459) and total scrimmage yards (2,023) while scoring 21 touchdowns, which was tied for the most by non-quarterbacks.
McCaffrey is looking to become the sixth player to win Offensive Player of the Year and the Super Bowl in the same season.
“We have one more,” said McCaffrey, whose 49ers play the Chiefs on Sunday. “Let’s finish it the right way.”
The Cleveland Browns celebrated one of their most successful seasons since returning to the NFL 25 years ago by winning four awards, the most among any team.
The NFL Defensive Player of the Year award went to defensive end Myles Garrett, who became the first Browns player to receive the honor. Garrett produced 14 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 4 forced fumbles for the NFL's top-ranked defense.
“To the city of Cleveland, this one’s for you,” Garrett said as he held up his trophy. “Next time we’ll bring home something bigger.”
The Browns' Kevin Stefanski won the NFL Coach of the Year award, edging out the Texans' DeMeco Ryans. Stefanski, who guided Cleveland to the playoffs despite using five different starting quarterbacks, beat Ryans by one first-place vote.
The Comeback Player of the Year was quarterback Joe Flacco, who transitioned from throwing to family members while out of the league for the first two and a half months of the season to lead the Browns in their first playoff appearance since 2020. The Super Bowl MVP 11 years ago, Flacco threw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns in five regular season games, winning four.
Flacco edged out Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills for the award by 11 points. Hamlin returned this season after suffering cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2, 2023.
And Cleveland's first-year defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was named assistant coach of the year as Cleveland allowed the fewest yards per game (270.2) in the NFL since 2014 and the fewest by the Browns since 1957 .
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans used two top-three draft picks to become the fourth team in NFL history to win the AP Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. Quarterback CJ Stroud, the second overall pick in 2023, led the NFL with 273.9 passing yards per game and became the first rookie to lead the league in touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.6 ). Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the No. 3 pick, recorded seven sacks, the most ever by a Texas rookie.
The only other teams to win these awards were the 2022 New York Jets (wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner), the 2017 New Orleans Saints (running back Alvin Kamara and running back corner Marshon Lattimore) and the 1967 Detroit Lions (running back Mel Farr). and cornerback Lem Barney).
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award was presented to Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, whose initiatives combat childhood hunger and support child literacy.
“There are so many kids just looking to build partnerships and people to connect with,” Heyward said. “We may not have the same backgrounds, but I want to be an advocate, I want to continue to give back. I want to make sure they understand there are opportunities out there.”
