Ravens QB Lamar Jackson wins AP 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player award

Lamar Jackson's emphatic finish to the 2023 season has earned him the NFL's greatest honor.

The Ravens quarterback was named 2023 NFL Most Valuable Player on Thursday at NFL Honors at Resorts World, marking the second time he's won the award after he took home the honor following the 2019 season.

Jackson's award was one of the least surprising of all honors distributed on Thursday, as he garnered 493 points with 49 of 50 first-place votes. Bills quarterback Josh Allen took home the only other first-place votes and was fifth overall with 80 points. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (152) was second, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (147) was third and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was fourth with 97 points.

Jackson finished in the top five in a number of key passing metrics, including passing yards per attempt (8), touchdown-to-interception ratio (24-7) and passer rating (102.7) while also ending the year atop the quarterbacks leaderboard for rushing yards (821). Thanks to a white-hot final six weeks -- including stellar showings in dominant victories over San Francisco and Miami -- Jackson ran away with an award that was far from settled entering December, but became a foregone conclusion by January.

Jackson separated himself from a congested pack by excelling in the biggest moments, recording 10 wins and 26 offensive touchdowns against teams with records of .500 or better, leading the NFL in both categories. In the process, he became the first quarterback with 10-plus wins in a single season against such teams since 1950, and made the Ravens the favorite to win the AFC entering the postseason.

Baltimore ultimately fell short of that goal, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game in a shockingly