MIAMI - Lamar Jackson joined Tom Brady as the only unanimous choices for the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award.
Jackson’s spectacular season drew all 50 votes from a nationwide panel of media members who regularly cover the league. Baltimore’s All-Pro set an NFL record for yards rushing by a quarterback (1,206) and led an offense that compiled more yards on the ground (3,296) than any in league history. The Ravens won their final 12 games of the regular season to finish at 14-2, the league’s best mark.
With his speed, agility and seeming sixth sense for how to avoid tacklers, Jackson was unchallenged as the MVP choice, just as New England’s Brady was in 2010. And like Brady back then, neither won a Super Bowl; the Ravens were eliminated in the divisional round by Tennessee.
Jackson is the first Raven to win the award and the seventh consecutive quarterback. The award was announced at NFL Honors.
Jackson wasn’t the only Raven to win an award Saturday. For leading Baltimore to the NFL’s best record, including a 12-game winning streak to end the regular season, John Harbaugh won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award.
Harbaugh, whose brother Jim was Coach of the Year in 2011, guided Baltimore to a 14-2 record. Harbaugh earned 27 1-2 votes, nearly double what San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan received in balloting.
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