Lamar Jackson wasn't just the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 2019. He was the unanimous MVP.
Jackson became just the second unanimous MVP in NFL history and the youngest (23) quarterback to ever win the award. Tom Brady was the only other MVP to get all 50 votes (2010).
Jackson's rise to the top of the NFL is a massive personal achievement and landmark in Ravens franchise history.
He is the first MVP in Ravens history – a past that includes Hall of Famers Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden. And Jackson did it in just his first full season as the starting quarterback.
For Jackson, a man who said his Heisman Trophy still sits in a box, the MVP is a piece of hardware that isn't the hardware he wants.
Jackson promised to bring a Lombardi Trophy back to Baltimore when the Ravens drafted him with the final pick of the first round in 2018. But after posting the league's best regular-season record at 14-2, Jackson and the Ravens were bounced from the playoffs in the divisional round.
"We didn't get what we wanted, but we got one of them," Jackson said.
Still, as much as Jackson wanted to be in Miami for different reasons, winning the award is a special moment for a player doubted by so many.
Can a non-traditional quarterback who is just as likely to beat you with his arm as his legs thrive in the NFL? Jackson's trophy case will provide the answer.
"There's been a lot of doubt going on, me being a running back, a receiver, stuff like that. That came when I got to the league. I had a great group of guys, a great organization with me," Jackson said in his acceptance speech.
Jackson thanks Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti, Head Coach John Harbaugh, Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome, General Manager Eric DeCosta and President Dick Cass.
"Those guys all believed in me," Jackson said. "And my mother – the bread and butter!
"I didn't want to talk about the doubters and stuff like that. I wanted to talk about the ones that believed in me, because they were there from the start."
Not only was Jackson named the NFL MVP, but he also took home the FedEx Air Player of the Year. To borrow Jackson's viral phrase, "Not bad for a running back."
Jackson also nearly took home the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year honor, but fell two votes behind New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who set the single-season receptions record (149) this season.
Ravens fans have spent so much time defending Jackson and rooting for him that they can probably recite his 2019 accomplishments like their favorite song, but here goes.
Jackson led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes. He shattered Michael Vick's all-time rushing quarterback record with 1,206 yards. He posted a perfect passer rating twice and threw five touchdown passes in a single game three times.
Jackson's 113.3 quarterback rating was the third highest in the league. At the same time, he had the sixth-most rushing yards in the league.
It was a season unlike any other in NFL history, and one that will be remembered forever. In 2019, Lamar Jackson won the league's highest individual honor. Next year, he'll look to take home the ultimate team award.
