Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens entered Levi's Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, as 6.5-point underdogs, and by the end of the night they left the field as the clear-cut top team in the NFL after a 33-19 thrashing of the NFC's top seed. Some pundits felt prior to the action on Christmas night, that the Ravens didn't stand a chance. The opposite occurred, and Jackson went out of his way to address the disrespect.
"You can't just discredit us," Jackson said Monday night. "We're grown men. We've got to feed our families. ... That's disrespectful. That's very disrespectful."
Jackson didn't break any records in Week 16, completing 23 of his 35 passes for 252 passing yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 45 yards, but he played turnover-free football and led the Ravens on seven consecutive scoring drives after trailing 5-0.
"We got the 'dub.' I really don't care about [my] performance," Jackson said. "I just want to win, and that's what happened tonight. On Christmas, that was my gift."
Thanks to that outing, Jackson was gifted the status of the NFL MVP betting favorite with a league-best -170 odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That sentiment was backed up by head coach John Harbaugh as well as his teammates.
"I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight," Harbaugh said postgame.
"He can do everything. You [saw] it tonight," Ravens rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, who led the team with nine catches for 72 receiving yards and a touchdown, said. "He ran it; he threw it; he led the team. That's the MVP."
"Lamar Jackson is the MVP, hands down," linebacker Roquan Smith said. "Anyone that watches football and knows football and can see the type of impact he has on the game – not even stat-wise, but just individually, the plays that he makes quarter in and quarter out, play in and play out. Compare his film to anyone else in the league. Then, I would love to hear what anyone else has to say after that."
However, Jackson's mind drifted back to what happened to his Ravens the last time they had the AFC's top seed and he won the MVP award in 2019: a one-and-done performance in the postseason with a 28-12 divisional round defeat against the Tennessee Titans. All he wants to ensure this time around is that 2023 ends differently than 2019.
"We know what it was in 2019 when we were playing against [teams] like this [and] winning regular-season games. When the time came, we didn't finish the season," Jackson said. "We're just going to keep taking it a day at a time, a practice at a time and a game at a time. That's all I'm focused on right now."
