Current:Home > NewsNFL MVP race turned on its head as Brock Purdy implodes, Lamar Jackson rises in Ravens' rout-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
NFL MVP race turned on its head as Brock Purdy implodes, Lamar Jackson rises in Ravens' rout
View Date:2024-12-24 00:26:14
Brock Purdy, MVP? Not so fast.
Lamar Jackson is your new favorite to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award.
This was some of the significant fallout from the Baltimore Ravens’ 33-19 romp at Levi’s Stadium on Christmas night. While Purdy, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, threw four interceptions for the first time in his young career, the Ravens’ star sparkled.
“I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh told reporters afterward. “It takes a team to create a performance like that. But…to play at an MVP level, it takes a player to play that way. And Lamar was all over the field, doing everything.”
For his part, Jackson, typically took it in stride when someone told him of Harbaugh’s assessment.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
“We got the dub,” Jackson said. “I really don’t care about the performance. I just wanted to win. That’s what happened tonight. On Christmas, that was my gift.”
And the Ravens’ gift.
Sure, we’ve seen bigger numbers. But in this case, the numbers don’t begin to do justice to Jackson’s impact on the much-anticipated showdown of the teams with the best records in each conference. The raw numbers show that he passed for 252 yards with two touchdowns. Yet your eyes told you that he must have scrambled for what, 50, 75 more yards to extend the plays that got him to 252.
It’s no news flash that Jackson led the Ravens again in rushing with 45 yards. He’s been running less in this system installed by new coordinator Todd Monken. Yet he demonstrated, again, that when he needs to, he can burn a defense in the worst way with his legs. His 30-yard scramble on a third-and-16 set up a field goal just before halftime – and was his longest run of the season.
And this wasn’t any average defense that Jackson stung. The 49ers entered the game with the NFL’s No. 2 unit in scoring average. Yet Jackson executed what Harbaugh implied was a game plan more complicated than most and (except for an early intentional grounding penalty in the end zone that resulted in a safety) never made the mistakes that played into the hands of San Francisco’s defense.
Jackson didn’t have a turnover, which underscored the poise that his team needed in a high-stakes game. And his decision-making was on point, reflected on check-down throws and escapes from the pocket alike.
It helped that Jackson’s own defense kept setting him up with great field position. In addition to the picks against Purdy, the Ravens also intercepted Sam Darnold after he came on in relief in the fourth quarter. And the Ravens, who entered the week leading the NFL with 50 sacks, collected four more.
Without question, it was a complete victory for a team that suddenly holds the NFL’s longest winning streak now at five games. And it’s an impressive resume that this version of the Ravens is building, which includes blowout victories against the Jacksonville Jaguars (23-7), Detroit Lions (38-6) and Seattle Seahawks (37-3).
With a victory on Sunday against the AFC East-leading Miami Dolphins, the Ravens (12-3) will clinch the No. 1 seed and first-round bye for the AFC playoffs.
And the MVP equation could flow, too, considering that Jackson is the best player on the team that has the NFL’s best record. If the matchup on Christmas night (the first time since 2005 that the teams with the best records in each conference met in December or later) provided a measure Jackson surely gained an edge over Purdy and San Francisco’s star running back, Christian McCaffrey.
Just don’t expect that Jackson, the unanimous MVP in 2019, will add his voice to such debates. He’s undoubtedly more concerned about pursuing the goal of winning a Super Bowl.
“We know what it was, 2019,” Jackson told reporters after Monday night’s game. “When the time came, we didn’t finish the season. So, we’re just going to keep taking it one day at a time.”
With more days like Christmas, Jackson could soon find himself with some more big gifts.
veryGood! (1724)
Related
- Jana Kramer’s Ex Mike Caussin Shares Resentment Over Her Child Support Payments
- Breaking Down the 2023 Met Gala's Karl Lagerfeld Theme
- Peter Thomas Roth Flash Deal: Save 75% On 1 Year’s Worth of Retinol
- All the Celebrity Couples Turning Met Gala 2023 Into the Ultimate Date
- Chrysler recalls over 200k Jeep, Dodge vehicles over antilock-brake system: See affected models
- Detroit, Chicago and the Midwest blanketed by wildfire haze from Canada
- Legendary Talk Show Host Jerry Springer Dead at 79
- Today’s Climate: April 17-18, 2010
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline, shrugging off Wall Street’s overnight rally
- Shop the Best New April 2023 Beauty Launches From Glossier, CLE Cosmetics, Juvia's Place & More
Ranking
- Megan Fox Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby With Machine Gun Kelly
- Jennifer Lopez Just Dropped Her Second Exclusive Shoe Collection With Revolve
- Blake Lively Shares Hilariously Relatable Glimpse Into Her At-Home Met Gala 2023 Celebration
- Rumer Willis Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- Hailey Bieber Shares Health Update One Year After Heart Procedure
- Met Gala 2023: Proof Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Mahomes Win Even Off the Field
- This week has had several days of the hottest temperatures on record
Recommendation
-
Georgia remains part of College Football Playoff bracket projection despite loss
-
Why deforestation means less rain in tropical forests
-
The Most Jaw-Dropping Met Gala Accessories of All Time
-
Zendaya and Tom Holland's Dream Date Night at Usher's Concert Will Have You Saying Yeah!
-
Voters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term
-
Sharna Burgess Details Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox's Co-Parenting Relationship
-
Is Ryan Reynolds Attending Met Gala 2023 Without Wife Blake Lively? He Says...
-
Pregnant Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy Reveal Sex of Baby With Help From Son Shai