Ravens' Lamar Jackson thankful for big change amid MVP season

Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson isn't taking for granted the fact that he played in the club's first 16 games of what he and others associated with the franchise hope will be remembered as a special season. 

"I just thank God because the last two seasons, like you said, I wasn’t able to go out there, help my team and compete with my guys," Jackson told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated following Baltimore's 56-19 blowout win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday that clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC. "God protected me, protected my teammates, for me to be able to go out there, finish the game, finish the season in the right direction, and come out with no injuries whatsoever." 

Much was made both before and after the Ravens used the non-exclusive franchise tag to retain Jackson's rights for 2023 about the fact that he missed a total of 11 games (playoffs included) from Week 1 of the 2021 season through last January due to physical setbacks. He ultimately signed a five-year contract reportedly worth up to $260M (with $185M guaranteed) during the offseason, and he's now widely viewed as the unnamed Most Valuable Player for the ongoing campaign. 

Logic suggests Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh should sit Jackson and other starters for this coming Saturday's regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers even though a similar call was followed by Baltimore losing its only playoff game in January 2020. As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Ravens as second among the betting favorites at +300 odds to win Super Bowl LVIII. 

Jackson may be better this season than he was when he earned the MVP Award for the 2019 campaign, but he won't yet say this is the best team that has ever featured his talents. 

"Hard to tell right now," Jackson said during his chat with Breer. "Games are going on right now, so we just need to stay dialed in and locked in. I’ll probably have something for you in February."

Both the NFL Honors program and the Super Bowl take place in February, meaning that month could be massive for Jackson and his Ravens.