Jamison Hensley, ESPN Workers Author
TAMPA, Fla. — In making the case for a 3rd NFL Most Helpful Participant award, Lamar Jackson is seemingly a triple menace now.
Along with throwing 5 landing passes and speeding for 52 yards Monday evening, Jackson confirmed off his newest talent — lead blocking for Derrick Henry within the Baltimore Ravens’ 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Ravens forward by 16 factors (34-18) within the fourth quarter, Jackson noticed Henry change instructions and ran upfield to push All-Professional security Antoine Winfield Jr. out of the way in which for a 39-yard achieve.
“Lamar is the final word competitor,” Ravens tight finish Mark Andrews mentioned. “He lays all of it out on the road each recreation. [He’s] simply actually superior, and he is one of the best. He is the MVP.”
For the primary time this season, Jackson has catapulted himself to being the betting favourite for NFL Most Helpful Participant, based on ESPN BET. Jackson’s odds at the moment are +275, which places him forward of Kansas Metropolis’s Patrick Mahomes (+475).
Jackson, 27, would turn out to be the youngest three-time NFL MVP. He beforehand received in 2019 and final season.
However Jackson, who’s the one two-time MVP to not attain a Tremendous Bowl, wasn’t involved in discussing his particular person accomplishments after the sport.
“I am chasing one thing proper now,” Jackson mentioned. “So every recreation goes to be the identical factor for me. Each recreation, I am attempting to win.”
Jackson as soon as once more took over the sport in main the Ravens (5-2) to a fifth straight victory. Trailing 10-0 within the first quarter, Jackson led Baltimore on six straight scoring drives, which resulted in 34 unanswered factors. Throughout this run, Jackson threw a 49-yard landing cross to vast receiver Rashod Bateman after which linked with Andrews for a 4-yard landing on fourth down.
In serving to the Ravens rating 27 or extra factors for the fifth recreation in a row — the longest present streak within the NFL — Jackson continues to place himself in a distinct class. This marked his third profession recreation with 5 landing passes and not less than 50 yards speeding. No different participant in NFL historical past has a couple of such recreation.
“It is nearly scary to see him getting higher at this level,” Ravens security Kyle Hamilton mentioned. “He is simply one-of-one. If I needed to equate it to someone basketball-wise, he’s like LeBron on the market.”
Whereas he has all the time been harmful as a runner, Jackson continues to make strides within the passing recreation. He completed 17-of-22 for 281 yards and 5 touchdowns. This was his fifth profession recreation with as many or extra landing passes as incompletions, based on ESPN Analysis.
By seven video games, Jackson ranks fifth in passing yards (1,810), second in landing passes (15) and second in yards per try (9.1).
“He is one of the best within the league,” Ravens defensive sort out Namdi Madubuike mentioned. “If individuals do not suppose so, they don’t seem to be watching soccer. They’re simply hating.”
Jackson does not suppose he performs any totally different in primetime video games, however he has raised his stage of play in entrance of nationwide tv audiences. He now has 20 landing passes and no interceptions on Monday Night time Soccer, which is the longest streak of landing passes with out an interception ever on Monday Night time Soccer.
“He’ll go down within the historical past of ‘Monday Night time Soccer’ for positive,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh mentioned, “and he has much more to go.”
