At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to name the AFC Player of the Week after Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson won the award for the third time this season for his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in the Ravens’ 35-34 win on Thursday Night Football over their division rival in Week 10, adding to what may end up being the best season of his career. The two-time MVP completed 25 of 33 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns.
Jackson has now won the award three times this season after previously winning it in Week 5 and Week 7. For his career, Jackson has won the AFC POTW 13 times.
On the heels of Jackson winning the second MVP of his career last season, he has found a way to elevate his game to another level. Jackson leads the NFL with a 123.2 passer rating and 9.3 yards per attempt. He’s also tied for the league lead with 24 passing touchdowns, while his 2,669 passing yards ranks second, only trailing Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow by three yards.
Jackson’s 24 passing touchdowns have already matched his total in 2023 and he’s 12 shy of tying his career-best of 36 touchdowns when he won the MVP for the first time in 2019.
Jackson has also taken exceptional care of the ball, throwing just two interceptions this season. Jackson’s 69.1 completion percentage and 79.5 percent throws on target are the best of his career by Pro Football Reference’s metrics. His bad throw percentage is also the lowest of his career at 14.4 percent.
The Ravens quarterback has four games in which he has thrown for at least 280 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions this season. He only did that twice all of last season.
As a result of Jackson’s success, the Ravens lead the league in yards and points per game. His play has also helped them overcome Baltimore’s league’s worst pass defense that has also allowed the eighth-most points per game.
If the season were to end today, you’d be hard-pressed to pick anyone other than Jackson to win MVP, though, the toughest stretch of the season remains for him and the Ravens with them facing the Pittsburgh Steelers twice, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans in five of their next six games.
Should Jackson continue to play at an MVP level and the Ravens come out on the other side of the brutal stretch of games in pole position to win the AFC North, it’s more than likely he will remain the favorite to win what would be the third MVP of his career and further etch his name into football immortality.
Jackson and Baltimore (7-3) face Pittsburgh (7-2) in a battle for first place in the AFC North on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Acrisure Stadium.