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Jackson Named NFL MVP By Unanimous Vote

Youngest quarterback to win the award

Todd Karpovich

Jackson Named NFL MVP By Unanimous Vote
Jackson Named NFL MVP By Unanimous Vote /

There didn't seem to be much intrigue leading up to the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award.

By most accounts, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was poised to take home the award after a record-setting season.

However, few thought he would win the accolade in such dominant fashion. 

Jackson became just the second player in NFL history to win the NFL's Most Valuable Player by a unanimous vote, joining Tom Brady in 2010. He is also the youngest quarterback to win the award at age 23. 

"There's been a lot of doubt going on, me being a running back, a receiver, stuff like that," Jackson said during his acceptance speech. "That came when I got to the league. I had a great group of guys, a great organization with me."

Lamar Jackson is just ninth player to ever win both the Heisman Trophy and NFL MVP, joining Frank Sinkwich (1944), Paul Hornung (1961), Roger Staubach (1971), O.J. Simpson (1973), Earl Campbell (1978 and 1979), Marcus Allen (1985), Barry Sanders (1997) and Cam Newton (2015). 

John Harbaugh was also named Coach of the Year and Greg Roman received the award for Assistant Coach of the Year at a ceremony Feb. 1 in Miami. 

Jackson had one of the most successful regular seasons by any quarterback in NFL history. He completed 265 of 401 passes for 3,127 yards and an NFL-high 36 touchdowns, which was also a franchise record. Jackson finished with 1,206 yards rushing — sixth best in the league and the most by a quarterback in NFL single-season history.

Jackson is the only quarterback in NFL history to produce at least 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season. He is also just the third quarterback in league history to produce at least 35 passing touchdowns and seven rushing touchdowns in a season, joining Steve Young (1994) and Cam Newton (2015).

In a 28-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans in this year's divisional round of the AFC playoffs, Jackson completed 31 of 59 pass attempts for 365 yards with the two interceptions. He also ran for 143 yards and touchdown on 20 carries, but also lost a fumble. Overall, Jackson produced 508 of Baltimore's 530 yards of total offense.

New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas was named the the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year honor after setting the single-season receptions record (149) this season. He edged Jackson by two votes. 

Jackson also won MVP awards from the Maxwell Football Club and the Professional Football Writers of America. He was named the FedEx Air Player of the Year. This season, Jackson joined Ben Roethlisberger (2007) as the only quarterbacks with multiple games with a passer rating of 158.3 – the highest attainable mark – doing so in both Week 1 and Week 10. 

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Todd Karpovich
TODD KARPOVICH

Twitter: @toddkarpovich Email: todd.karpovich@gmail.com Skype: todd.karpovich Todd Karpovich has been a contributor for ESPN, Forbes, the Associated Press, Lindy's, and The Baltimore Sun, among other media outlets nationwide. He is the co-author of “If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box,” “Skipper Supreme: Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles,” and the author of “Manchester United (Europe's Best Soccer Clubs).” Karpovich, a Baltimore native, is a graduate of Calvert Hall College high school, Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and has a Masters of Science from Towson University. 

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