Lamar Jackson is paving an MVP campaign ahead of showdown with Jaguars
Youve heard the names for weeks, the NFLs top candidates for Most Valuable Player:
Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill from the Dolphins. Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey from the 49ers. Jalen Hurts from the Eagles. Dak Prescott from the Cowboys. Patrick Mahomes from the Chiefs.
A name we havent heard a lot of is Lamar Jackson from the Ravens.
All the Baltimore quarterback has done is throw 16 touchdowns to just six interceptions and rushed for 644 yards with five more TDs en route to leading the Ravens to a 10-3 record entering Sunday nights pivotal game at 8-5 Jacksonville.
The Ravens enter the week as the AFCs No. 1 seed, which means if the regular season ended this week, theyd have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, ending the Chiefs reign of domination in the conference.
Jackson has been at the center of the Ravens run, which is at seven wins in the past eight games, and thats ramped up the MVP talk. He won the honor in 2019.
Its an honor just being acknowledged to be conversation with great guys, Jackson said of the MVP talk. But Im just trying to stay locked in trying to win, because I want anther Super Bowl trophy.
Lamar Jackson (8) runs with the ball past Los Angeles Rams linebacker Troy Reeder. APJackson isnt likely to match all of the numbers he put up four years ago when he was MVP, including 36 passing touchdowns to go with 1,206 rushing yards and seven TDs. He is, however, on pace for career highs in passing yards (he has 2,934 through 13 games) and completion rate (66.8 percent). Hes done this without his top tight end, Mark Andrews, who was injured in November.
Jackson is 14-3 in his career in December, the NFLs second-best record among quarterbacks since 2018 behind only Aaron Rodgers, whos 17-3.
Hes one of a kind, coach John Harbaugh said. Theres nobody like Lamar Jackson.
Jackson and the Ravens are focused on making sure the AFC has to come through Baltimore in the postseason.
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We want it bad, linebacker Patrick Queen said of getting a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
Just because they put a bracket on the TV screen, it doesnt mean anything, Harbaugh said. Its what you do, so our guys understand that we have to go earn everything we get, and if we earn it, then well get it. If we dont earn it, we wont.
If the Ravens do cross the regular-season finish line with the top seed, they will have earned it based on their remaining schedule, which represents a gauntlet. After the Jaguars game, they play at the NFC-leading 49ers (10-3) on Christmas night, then host AFC East-leading Dolphins (9-4) and face the Steelers (7-6) to close out the season.
For the Jaguars, its all about quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who played last week against the Browns a week after he suffered a high-ankle sprain against Cincinnati. But he struggled, completing just 28 of 50 passes with three interceptions.
Lawrence iswithout one of his top targets, receiver Christian Kirk, who just went on injured reserve, but he still has receiver Calvin Ridley (55 catches for 742 yards and five TDs) and tight end Evan Engram (84 catches for 701 yards and three TDs).
The Ravens lead the league with 49 sacks, led by the remarkable season of defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who enters with at least a half-sack in 10 consecutive games and is just one away from tying Kansas Citys Chris Jones for the longest all-time sack streak among interior defensive linemen. Jones had 11 consecutive games with at least half a sack in 2018.
Trevor Lawrence is playing through an ankle injury. USA TODAY Sports Its on my mind, but I dont worry about it, Madubuike told reporters this week.
Offensively, Ravens receiver Zay Flowers has scored three times in the past two games.
The Jaguars will be challenged because they havent has success against the NFLs top defenses this season. Theyre 0-3 against Cleveland (ranked first), San Francisco (seventh) and Kansas City (sixth), and theyve failed to eclipse 300 yards against any of those teams.
The Ravens are ranked second in the league in yards allowed, second in points and lead the league with 49 sacks.
If you want to get to the end of the season where were all trying to get, youre going to play teams with great defenses, Lawrence told reporters this week. Thats what gets you there. Thats a big part of why teams are good. Baltimore is a top team in the AFC right now. Defensively, theyre playing lights out.
The Jaguars are just 2-4 at home this season, leading pass rusher Josh Allen to say, We need to play with our hair on fire. We need to come out fighting and swinging. Our backs against the wall right now, and weve got to respond like it.
The Jaguars are playing on Sunday Night Football for the first time in 14 years. Theyve played in prime time 11 times. Jacksonvilles last Sunday night game came against Pittsburgh in 2008, a 26-21 loss.
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