Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson received plenty of bulletin board material for the offseason following the AFC Championship Game. The Ravens fell 17-10 to the Kansas City Chiefs at home. Many fans aren’t sure he’s deserving of this season’s NFL MVP after the game.
The Baltimore Ravens offense looked poor on Sunday
The game didn’t feel that close, as the Ravens offense played a sloppy 60 minutes of football. Jackson made some incredible plays in the first half. He caught his own pass that was tipped and ran for a first down. Jackson also used his feet to keep a play alive that ended with the Ravens’ only touchdown of the game, a 30-yard bomb to Zay Flowers.
Jackson also had two costly turnovers. He fumbled deep in Ravens territory. Fortunately, the Chiefs were unable to capitalize on the turnover. Jackson also threw a fourth quarter interception in triple coverage that hurt the Ravens’ chances of making a comeback from a two-score deficit.
Jackson finished 20-37 passing for 272 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He also added 54 yards on the ground.
Jackson’s biggest indictment of the game was evident from Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid’s second-half philosophy. He made conservative decisions with play calling to run out the clock instead of trying to convert third and long plays because he didn’t think Jackson could score enough to tie.
NFL fans aren’t sure Jackson should win MVP
Jackson is expected to win his second NFL MVP in February. Sunday’s game doesn’t take away from how he played in the regular season. After all, the NFL MVP is a regular-season award. Jackson threw for 3,678 passing, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions during the Ravens 17 regular season games. He added 821 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in that span.
Jackson was the best player in the regular season. But once again, his style of play didn’t translate into Super Bowl-winning football. Some quarterbacks win regular season awards; others win championships. Jackson has proven he belongs in the regular season conversation.
And that’s about it.
Many fans think Jackson is overrated after the loss. Here are the best takes of fans reacting to the likely NFL MVP losing to the league’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
Lamar Jackson will always be known as the Fake MVP moving forward.
Today he was the Most Valuable Player for the Chiefs.
— PhillyGodfather ® Sports Bettor (@phillygodfather) January 28, 2024
He can’t handle the big moment. This was his year and he blew it. Great REGULAR season qb that’s about it
— East coast biased (@CoastBiased) January 28, 2024
You nerds really made Lamar Jackson a 2x MVP because he has pretty highlights five times a game.
— Brandon Anderson (@wheatonbrando) January 28, 2024
Lamar Jackson for MVP🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Terry M.🚀 (@OneLove__T) January 28, 2024
I swear the Ravens had Lamar Jackson as their QB…
Why was Dak Prescott out there??Same ol regular season stat padders. “MVP”’s 🤣
— Fred III (@Fred_TheThird) January 28, 2024
Lamar Jackson is 2-4 in the playoffs with 9 TDs and 9 TOs. Literally the same number of TOs as TDs.
Josh Allen has 3.5x more TDs than TOs in the playoffs (21 TDs, 6 TOs).
I hope the media keeps the same narrative about the “MVP” as they would about Allen if he had those stats.
— JBJ (@jbjhuman) January 28, 2024
"NFL MVP Lamar Jackson" pic.twitter.com/RGEUhh4dKt
— DJszn(10-7) (@PutridLobster) January 28, 2024
Patrick Mahomes watching soon-to-be MVP Lamar Jackson in this AFC Championship game pic.twitter.com/FizMOnAlwh
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) January 28, 2024
Related: Ravens fans call AFC Championship “rigged” after video surfaces
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