Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has been playing at an extremely high level throughout the season, so seeing him look mortal was very strange.
Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers marked Jackson’s worst statistical performance of the season as he completed 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception, plus four carries for 46 yards. He wasn’t the reason why the Ravens lost, but he couldn’t take over the game like he has all season. The Steelers have always given him trouble, and this game only continued that trend.
After a rough outing, some began to question’s standing in the MVP race. However, that take seems like far more of an overreaction than anything based in reality.
While Jackson’s performance on Sunday wasn’t his best, it’s important to remember just how difficult it is to play at an MVP level every single week. For example, let’s look at two other quarterbacks in the MVP race in Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions. Allen had a game earlier this season when he completed just nine of 30 passes for 131 yards, while Goff threw five interceptions just nine days ago.
That’s not to say that Allen and Goff aren’t worthy of being in the MVP race, they absolutely are. Rather, it just goes to show that even the best players have subpar games. So far, though, Jackson has had the fewest duds of the group.
Additionally, Jackson’s still on top of the league when it comes to raw stats. He still leads the league in passer rating (117.1) and is second in passing yards (2,876), touchdowns (25) and quarterback rating (75). That will be hard to ignore once MVP voting rolls around.
Finally, it’s important to consider where the Ravens would be without Jackson, and the answer is nowhere near the playoffs. He’s the main reason why they’re even close to contenders, and while that could be said for most top-tier quarterbacks, it’s especially true with Jackson this season.
Maybe Jackson’s not the runaway favorite to win his second-straight MVP award and third overall, but he’s absolutely still a strong contender for it.
