Lamar Jackson put himself in rare company when he captured the NFL MVP award last season. Not only was Jackson only the league's second unanimous MVP and the second-youngest player to win the award, but he was just the fifth player in league history to win the honor in one of his first two seasons.
How rare is the career path Jackson is on? Three of those players who won the MVP award in their first two seasons are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and two have league titles. Whether Jackson follows the same path is to be determined, but the Baltimore Ravens quarterback is in elite company.
Just how great was Jackson's MVP season? He became the first quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He also had the most rushing yards by a QB in a season in NFL history (1,206), leading the league with 6.9 yards per carry and finishing with seven touchdowns. Jackson completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and six interceptions for a 113.3 passer rating. He led the NFL in touchdown passes and touchdown percentage (9.0) and his 43 total touchdowns led the league.
Bottom line, those numbers will be tough to surpass in 2020 as Jackson looks to defend his MVP crown. How did the other four players who won the MVP award in one of their first two seasons fare the following year, with all the expectations placed on them?
Let's take a look:
Patrick Mahomes (2019)
Won MVP award: 2018, 2nd season
Mahomes created lofty expectations for himself after earning MVP honors in his first full season as a starting quarterback. Mahomes led the NFL with 50 touchdown passes, becoming the third player in league history to toss 50 touchdown passes in a season. He completed 66% of his passes for 5,097 yards -- the eighth quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a season -- and complied a 113.8 passer rating, leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a 12-4 record (home-field advantage in the AFC) and an AFC Championship Game appearance.
A dislocated kneecap destroyed Mahomes' chances of repeating as league MVP, but the Chiefs quarterback still had an excellent season. Mahomes completed 65.9% of his passes for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns to just five interceptions (105.3 rating) in 14 games, as the Chiefs went 11-3 in his starts. The 2018 MVP was even better in the postseason, throwing for 901 yards with 10 touchdowns to just two interceptions (111.5 rating) and earned Super Bowl MVP honors, leading Kansas City to its first Super Bowl title in 50 years.
Mahomes is the youngest player to ever win both an NFL MVP Award and a Super Bowl (24 years, 138 days), surpassing Emmitt Smith (24 years, 233 days). He is just the fifth quarterback to throw 10 or more touchdown passes in a single postseason.
While Mahomes didn't repeat as MVP, he was the reason Kansas City won a Super Bowl last season. Now he's on pace to become one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.
Kurt Warner (2000)
Won MVP award: 1999, 2nd season
There is a disclaimer NFL fans need to know with Warner's inclusion. Warner tried out for the Green Bay Packers in training camp in 1994 as an undrafted free agent, which would have been his "rookie season." He didn't sign a futures contract in the league until 1998 with the St. Louis Rams after spending three years in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers. Pro Football Reference lists Warner's first season as 1998, when he was the third-string quarterback in St. Louis, so we're counting him on this list.
Warner led the league in completion percentage (65.1), touchdown passes (41), touchdown percentage (8.2), yards per attempt (8.7) and quarterback rating (109.2) while winning MVP honors and taking the Rams to their first Super Bowl title. He won MVP honors in that game as well, throwing for a then-Super Bowl record 414 yards.
Having a better 2000 season was an impossible task for Warner, but he gave it his best shot. He posted 300-plus passing yards in each of his first six games with 19 touchdown passes, but a broken hand in the middle of the season shattered any chance Warner had of repeating as league MVP.
When Warner returned, he was not playing at a MVP level, throwing four touchdowns to 10 interceptions in the final four games. Warner finished with 3,429 passing yards with 21 touchdowns to 18 interceptions and a 98.3 passer rating. Warner would have thrown for 4,988 yards if he played the full season, one which he led the NFL in completion percentage (67.7), yards per attempt (9.9), yards per game (311.7), and net yards gained per pass attempt (9.03).
The Rams went 8-3 in Warner's starts, but were carried by Marshall Faulk that year. Warner won league MVP honors the next season, 2001.
Dan Marino (1985)
Won MVP award: 1984, 2nd season
Marino rewrote the NFL record books in 1984, his first full season as a starter. That season wouldn't be matched in the NFL by a quarterback in the 20th century, as he threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, both league records that stood for 20 years. Marino led the league in yards per attempt (9.0), touchdown percentage (8.5), passer rating (108.9), adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (9.4), yards per game (317.8), net yards gained per attempt (8.6), completions (362) and attempts (564).
Marino took the Miami Dolphins to the Super Bowl that season, only to never reach the league championship game again. That doesn't mean he didn't have a good season in 1985. Marino led the league for the second consecutive year in passing yards (4,137) and touchdown passes (30), but also threw a career-high 21 interceptions as his passer rating dipped to 84.1.
Despite the slight drop off in production (by Marino's standards), the Dolphins finished 12-4 and reached the AFC Championship Game, but were shockingly defeated by the New England Patriots. Six turnovers plagued the Dolphins; they went back to the conference title game only one more time in Marino's Hall of Fame career.
The Dolphins were the only team to beat the Chicago Bears -- who won the Super Bowl -- that year. Who knows how Super Bowl XX would have played out if Miami beat New England?
Earl Campbell (1980)
Won MVP award: 1979, 2nd season
Campbell might be the only player on this list to have a better season the year after his MVP campaign and not win the award. The Houston Oilers running back led the NFL with 1,697 yards and 19 touchdowns in 1979 (on 368 carries), averaging 106.1 rushing yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry. The Oilers reached the AFC Championship Game that season, but teams stacked the box as Campbell ran out of gas during the playoffs, even though they reached the AFC Championship Game.
Brian Sipe winning league MVP in 1980 over Campbell is still questionable, especially since Campbell was dominant in the year following his MVP award. Campbell had more carries (373) and yards (1,934), while leading the league with 5.2 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns -- and he did all this in 15 games.
If Campbell played 16 games, there was an excellent chance he would have been the second running back to surpass 2,000 yards in a season. Sipe's 4,132 passing yards and league leading 91.4 passer rating gave him the 47 votes to Campbell's 22, not to mention the Browns' surprising AFC Central championship.
Campbell had 10 100-yard rushing games and four 200-yard rushing games. There have been seven 2,000-yard backs, but none had four 200-yard games in a season, like Campbell did, a showcase of his dominance in 1980.
It was Campbell's best season, but he doesn't have a MVP award to show for it.
Jim Brown (1958, 1959)
Won MVP award: 1957, 1st season; 1958, 2nd season
The league's first MVP winner, Brown is the only player to take home MVP honors in his rookie season. Brown is also the only player to win league MVP honors in his first two seasons in the league and just one of four players to win league MVP in consecutive years.
While there are some disputed claims of the league MVP before 1961, the Associated Press recognizes Brown as the MVP winner in 1957 and 1958. Brown rushed for a league-leading 942 yards and nine touchdowns in 1957, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He led the league in rushing by 242 yards and was fourth in yards from scrimmage despite being a running back.
Brown was just getting started in that rookie season of 1957, rushing for 1,527 yards and 17 touchdowns in 1958 (5.9 yards per carry) -- both league records. Brown was the first player to rush for 1,500 yards in a season and was just one touchdown shy of surpassing Spec Sanders' record of 18 in 1947. His 127.3 rushing yards per game were also a league record and he rushed for 100 yards in nine of 12 games.
What did Brown do for an encore with his second MVP award in 1959? Brown averaged just 4.6 yards per carry, but still led the league with 1,329 yards, 14 touchdowns and 110.8 rushing yards per game. He also set the NFL single-game record with five rushing touchdowns in a game, one which has yet to be surpassed (but only matched four other times).
Johnny Unitas won MVP that season, but Brown was in the middle of leading the league in rushing five consecutive seasons and in eight of his nine years in the NFL.