'Elite Company!' NFL Writers React to Ravens' Lamar Jackson Winning Second NFL MVP

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was awarded his second career MVP on Thursday night - and he's just 27 years old.

The Ravens' season didn't end the way they expected or wanted it to. After a dominating regular season that resulted in a 13-4 record, a North championship and the No. 1 seed in the AFC, Baltimore suffered a heartbreaking 17-10 loss at home to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

But that doesn't take away from the accomplishments during the regular season.

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As the year played out, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson became the clear favorite to win the NFL MVP - and won it almost unanimously at the NFL Honors Awards presentation on Thursday night. Jackson received 49 of the 50 first-place votes, missing out on becoming the first two-time unanimous MVP in NFL history.

He's the 11th multiple-time winner of the award, the youngest quarterback to win it twice, and the second-youngest player behind Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown.

The NFL world reacted to Jackson's feat:

Nick Shook of NFL.com - "The most important element — a Super Bowl appearance and/or victory — remains missing from his resume. But with Jackson only just entering his prime at 27 years old, the Ravens are lucky to call one of the NFL's most thrilling talents their own. And now, they can call him a two-time MVP."

Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic - "What Jackson did produce this season was more evidence that he's the league's single most important player to his team's success. As Hall of Fame quarterback and ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said before a Ravens broadcast this past season, there's no quarterback asked to do more for his team. In 2023, Jackson delivered."

Jamison Hensley of ESPN - "Jackson separated himself from the other candidates by playing his best against the best, recording 10 victories 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."

Kyle Goon of The Baltimore Banner - "With a simple stride across a stage, Lamar Jackson walked into immortality Thursday night. Only 10 men had won Most Valuable Player more than once, and they were the most hallowed names in football. Brown. Unitas. Montana. Young. Favre. Warner. Manning. Brady. Rodgers. Mahomes. And, now, Jackson. If you're feeling chills, don't worry. You should. Yet the higher you climb in football, just like an actual mountain, the harder it is to push on. The air is rarer and harder to draw in a fresh breath. 

"Every misstep, every miscalculation is more consequential. That's the territory Jackson has entered — no longer measured against his peers but against the greatest players in the sport's history."

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David Carr of NFL Network - "He was the best player on the field every time he stepped out there. … Imagine winning the MVP while you're learning a new offense that is totally different than what you've done before. He's been on a run-first team, there were RPOs, and now they spread it out, sideline to sideline. You get Odell [Beckham Jr.] involved, you get Zay [Flowers involved], you're playing basketball on grass, and he was still the best player. So, for me, well-deserved. Should've been unanimous."