A segment of football enthusiasts expressed their desire for the San Francisco 49ers running back to be crowned the NFL MVP instead of the Baltimore Ravens quarterback.
Lamar Jackson and Christian McCaffrey (Image via IMAGO)
Football supporters were not particularly pleased with Lamar Jackson winning the NFL MVP Award. Despite the fact that the Ravens quarterback was heavily favored to receive the accolade, a group of fans on social media strongly believed that Christian McCaffrey deserved the honor more.
Traditionally, the MVP award is presented to the most outstanding player in the league throughout the regular season. Jackson was the frontrunner for the majority of the 2023 season, topping the majority of publication lists as the favorite candidate to win. McCaffrey closely trailed behind him, along with the Cowboys quarterback.
After experiencing a couple of injury-riddled seasons, which limited his number of games to 12, Jackson managed to play 16 games in the last campaign. He demonstrated why experts consider him to be one of the few quarterbacks who excel in both passing and rushing. The graduate from the University of Louisville completed 307 passes out of 457 attempts with a success rate of 67.2% (his highest in his career) for 3,678 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and 148 carries for 821 rushing yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry (his highest in his career) and scoring 5 touchdowns.
On Thursday night, in Las Vegas, Jackson received his second Associated Press NFL MVP award. The 27-year-old was the unanimous winner for the 2019 season. Jackson came close to achieving the same feat once again, as he received 49 out of 50 first-place votes.
#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has officially been named the 2023 NFL MVP, securing the award for the second time in his career. pic.twitter.com/p7kuiVB56x
Shortly after the announcement of the results, fans expressed their dissatisfaction with Lamar Jackson being selected as the winner. They argued that San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey was more deserving of the title. McCaffrey had an exceptional season, rushing for a career-best 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns, along with 67 receptions for 564 yards (the second-highest in the league in 2023) and scoring seven touchdowns.
He also led the league in total touches from the line of scrimmage with 339 and yards with 2,023. McCaffrey played a significant role in the 49ers’ conquest of the NFC Championship title for the first time since 2019 and their pursuit of another Super Bowl victory (last won in 1994).
Fans argue that these accomplishments are sufficient for the 27-year-old to be recognized as the top player in the league, surpassing Jackson. Otherwise, as it was claimed last December, the MVP award “is a quarterback award. We all know that.”
CMC was unfairly overlooked, let’s be honest here.
This has to be the worst MVP year ever, honestly.
Truly the worst MVP ever, if we’re being honest.
How did this not go to CMC, seriously?
Unbelievable. Fraudulent. Boring. Carried by the defense. It’s actually so strange that this year’s MVP was determined solely by the media saying it and everyone accepting it.
The worst MVP ever, and it’s not even close.
🤣 This might be remembered as one of the worst seasons in modern history.
It’s time to make it strictly a QB award. The fact that CMC didn’t even receive a single vote is astonishing.
If CMC is the runaway Offensive Player of the Year, how can Lamar be the MVP when his contributions are solely on offense?
Two MVP awards for his two career playoff wins!
It should have been CMC, but the MVP is always a QB award.
The softest MVP in the last 20 years. He had a great year, but MVP? No way. QBs need their own separate award at this point. #NFL
After being honored, Jackson expressed,
Lamar’s odds to win MVP shifted dramatically, going from +1600 (initial odds) to -10,000 (final odds) 🤯 Check out the complete tracker of MVP odds from this season 🔽 pic.twitter.com/TylyQqjOjv
He joined the ranks of , and , individuals who have received the title of the top NFL players on multiple occasions. MVPs typically indicate future induction into the Hall of Fame.
According to the Source firstsportz.com