Lamar Jackson pegged as 2023 MVP by many NFL analysts

The Ravens are coming off their most dominant win of the season after defeating the scary (on paper, it seems) Detroit Lions 38-6 in Week 7 last Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Both teams are now sharing the same 5-2 record, but one is clearly getting into Week 8 on a much higher note. That would be your Baltimore Ravens, of course, and they can very well thank their franchise player and former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Are we sure Jackson is not up for an encore after winning the award all the way back in 2019, though?

According to many pundits and analysts out there writing and covering the NFL, that might actually be the case if Jackson keeps playing to the levels he's shown through the first couple of months of play.

"Sunday was classic Lamar, MVP Lamar, sprinting out of the gates against a very good team with four long touchdown drives on the first four Baltimore series. Accurate (21 of 27), mistake-free and productive (four total TDs, no picks, 357 passing yards), playing from ahead (built a 35-0 lead). The big contract seems well worth it this morning."

- Peter King, NBC Sports

World-renowned analyst Peter King of NBC Sports named Jackson his Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7 along with Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Sunday was classic Lamar, MVP Lamar," wrote King. Do you need anything else?

More flowers were given to the Ravens quarterback, who seemingly caught everybody's attention thanks to his three-touchdown outing against the Lions.

Jackson wrapped up Week 7 by completing 21-of-27 passes for 357 yards and getting a near-perfect 155.8 passer rating. He added 36 yards on the ground and rushed for a touchdown on top of that.

"Quarterback Lamar Jackson played like an MVP, in complete control of Todd Monken's offense as a passer and a runner. A brilliant player who has already won that award once, Jackson might have actually played his best all-around game as a pro Sunday."

- Dan Graziano, ESPN

Just to quote another national reporter speaking highly of Lamar's performance, Dan Graziano of ESPN simply wrote "Jackson played like an MVP," and that, again, speaks for itself.

Considering Todd Monken has barely spent a few months in Baltimore and is still tinkering with his offensive playbook and coming up with new ideas as the Ravens' new Offensive Coordinator, the sky is the limit for this team and this offense as led by Jackson.

"Jackson might have actually played his best all-around game as a pro Sunday," Graziano finished.

It's still very early in the award race but with seven games in the books opinions are starting to crystalize and Lamar Jackson seems to be leading (or close to the top spot) the race for the MVP award. Seven gone, 10 to go, and the second title as the best player in the league on the horizon. Keep it going.

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