Ravens Star's Absence Contributing to Weakened MVP Options

Even when he's not actively building on another MVP campaign, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens still finds a way to factor into the race for the league's top regular season award.

He and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals were expected to finish as two of the honor's anticipated favorites, but with Jackson having missed nearly as much action as he played while Burrow angles for a comeback before the season's end, they've left a weakened field of contenders in their wake.

Former winners like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen also haven't looked like their peak selves, setting the 2025 season up for one of the stranger award years in awhile. Against all odds, Baker Mayfield of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks like he MVP favorite just three years after barely avoiding falling out of the NFL entirely. He's looked deserving of the title, having sustained as the clutchest quarterback in the game through six weeks, but the absence of Jackson and others is unquestionable contributing to voters having to really think about their prospective picks.

"While Jackson is expected to return after Baltimore's Week 7 bye, the 1-5 Ravens may be too far out of the playoff picture to give Jackson any realistic push at MVP," Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox wrote. "Jackson and [Dak] Prescott were two early favorites we were willing to buy as MVP candidates after Burrow's injury. They already feel like substantial long shots...Several early favorites have dipped in the past few weeks, while Mayfield continues to impress."

Mayfield's Bucs have the inverse record of the Ravens' own mark, with their sitting four games under .500 to put them well out of the divisional race, let alone the playoff hunt.