As Lamar Jackson was about to accept the team's most valuable player award, voted on by the Baltimore-area media, he was interrupted. Teammate Matthew Judon jokingly walked to the microphone as if he had won.
Jackson laughed, as did Judon and others. This year, it was quite obvious who would take home the award.
By unanimous vote, Jackson was named the team's MVP and is expected to be named the NFL's most valuable player as well. On the same day, Jackson was also named a first-team All-Pro. Yesterday, he was nominated for the 2019 FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year.
Winning the award was another opportunity to reflect on Jackson's many accomplishments. But as usual, Jackson deflected attention away from himself and toward his teammates, coaches and their ultimate goal – winning the Super Bowl.
"Everyone is MVP, because without them, there's no me," Jackson said. "It's a team award to me. All the accolades and stuff like that, I'll cherish that another time. I'm trying to chase something else right now. But I'm grateful for it."
Jackson was asked if he had a special place to keep all the hardware he is collecting.
"I don't even have a place for the Heisman (Trophy)," Jackson said. "I still have that in a box."
Jackson set the single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback (1,206) and led the league with 36 touchdown passes while throwing just six interceptions. Baltimore ended the season on a 12-game winning streak and finished with a 14-2 record, the best in franchise history.
Last year, cornerback Marlon Humphrey edged out Jackson in the Baltimore MVP voting. Jackson didn't become the starter until Week 11, but he went 6-1 and was a major reason the Ravens reached the playoffs.
Meanwhile, right tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was voted the 2019 Media Good Guy in just his second season with the Ravens.
When the locker room is open to the media, Brown is almost always sitting with a smile on his face, willing to speak with anyone who approaches. He's willing to discuss anything – football, food, clothes, music, movies.
It's impressive that Brown won the award playing for a team that has several older players who are also media-friendly. Marshal Yanda also finished high in the voting. Brown's late father, Orlando Brown Sr., was also an offensive tackle with the Ravens, and that background helped Brown enter the league well-prepared to deal with the media.
"It's something my mom and dad talked to me about a lot," Brown said. "I feel like my dad wasn't really good with the media, just because he wasn't exposed to a lot of stuff at a young age. He made sure I was. When I got to the University of Oklahoma, they made sure we were, too. They put us through a bunch of gauntlets with different media members and things. I would say that's part of my development."
Brown was asked why he was rarely hard to find in the locker room.
"I don't have nothing to hide from you guys," Brown said smiling. "Whether we win or lose, I'm just me."
