Lamar Jackson put an exclamation point on his MVP chances over the weekend. The Ravens quarterback clinched Baltimore the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a dominant win over the Miami Dolphins where he threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns. That performance now has him as the runaway favorite for the award, but there's a least one person who doesn't see him as a clear-cut MVP.
Reacting to Jackson's five-touchdown game on Monday, former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said that he still would not cast his vote for the Ravens signal-caller.
"That didn't move the needle," Sherman said on FS1's Undisputed. "It was a fantastic performance by Lamar Jackson at a time his team needed it. It was a statement game, late in the season, end of December, you've got to give him all the credit in the world. ... But when you look at the full picture, I just don't see it. People argue with me and say 'Man, you're just hating.' I don't see how I'm hating. I'm just laying out the facts of the matter."
Despite Lamar Jackson’s 5 TD performance, it has not changed @RSherman_25's MVP vote:
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) January 1, 2024
“I don’t see it as the same as his unanimous MVP season. I give it to Christian McCaffrey.” pic.twitter.com/72AsQ91qX6
Sherman's reasoning for not picking Jackson as his MVP for this season was due to the lack of touchdowns. After that game on Sunday, Jackson had 24 passing touchdowns, which appeared to be a key crux of his argument. That total currently has Jackson tied for 10th most passing touchdowns in the league.
Sherman also noted that Jackson's numbers are down significantly from his first (and unanimous) MVP season in 2019. That point seems a bit misguided as Jackson shouldn't be compared to a previous version of himself and instead compared to his fellow competitors this season. In any case, Sherman noted that if he were to have a vote for MVP, it would go to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who leads the league in scrimmage yards (2,023) and is tied for the league lead in total touchdowns (21).
While McCaffrey is certainly a worthy candidate, Jackson's recent surge is what will likely put him over the top in this race. Not only did he lock up the No. 1 seed last week, but the game prior went into Santa Clara and led the Ravens to a blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers, who many have pointed to as the Super Bowl favorite. So while Sherman may not have Jackson as his MVP favorite, it does feel like the award was settled on Sunday with the impressive win over Miami.
