Lamar Jackson & Co. Told to Take Alternative Measures as NBC Reporter Downplays Josh Allen’s MVP

There’s a specter haunting the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills. It’s not the echo of Ray Lewis’ pregame dance, nor the chill of a January wind whipping off the Chesapeake. It’s the lingering, weighty ghost of ‘almost’. Of regular-season dominance dissolving in the crucible of the postseason. For Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, the past isn’t just prologue; it feels like an anchor. And according to NBC’s Mike Florio, it’s the invisible hurdle they must clear.

Chatting with Ryan Ripken on the Ryan Ripken Show, Florio dropped a thought bomb wrapped in Baltimore purple: “He should have been the MVP last year.” Let that simmer. “Nothing against Josh Allen,” Florio continued, his tone casual yet pointed, “but I think Lamar’s season was more impressive. I don’t know why enough of the voters went with Josh Allen instead.” Florio, holding one of the precious MVP votes himself, confirmed his ballot:

“I had one of the votes and I made Lamar Jackson number 1 and Josh Allen number 2.” It wasn’t just homerism; it was a recognition of Jackson’s historic 2024: 4,172 yards through the air (6th), 41 TDs (T-2nd), a mere 4 INTs, a league-leading 77.3 QBR, plus 915 yards on the ground. His resume reads like a Madden create-a-player cheat code – the only QB ever with multiple 4K-pass/800+-rush seasons.

Ripken, channeling every Ravens fan’s existential dread, laid bare the frustration: “Everyone started talking about how good the Ravens were… The last few years… And they just haven’t put it together. Can you give me some optimism here? At least as a fan and for the city.” He ticked off the stacked roster – MVP-caliber QB, elite TEs, defensive stars, rising coaching synergy – practically pleading, “On paper, roster, I don’t know what else they can do… Give me something.”

Rewriting the narrative: Jackson’s mental hurdle is the Ravens’ final frontier

Florio’s answer cut deeper than Xs and Os. “I think that it’s mental more than anything else,” he offered, drawing a parallel as unexpected as a flea-flicker on 4th down. “And this is true in any sport… But I remember in baseball you know how Barry Bonds used to… By the time the postseason came around… it gets into your head. Once a narrative gets started it makes it so much harder to shed that narrative.” That narrative? Jackson’s 2-4 playoff record.

The sting of being the #1 seed twice and falling short, including that infamous 2019 Tennessee Titans upset Florio referenced. “And I feel like that’s where the Ravens are right now… every time you fail it enhances the narrative… So, every time you’re back at it… that’s all happened.”

He painted the playoff reality: “You’ve got 14 teams left and it’s all single elimination… At 60 minutes of football anything can happen.” Remembering the near-miss against the Buffalo Bills last January, Florio stressed, “they were the better team and they should have won that game… But I think there’s something that is mental about your history… the more extensive your history of not getting through, the harder that is to overcome each passing year.”

His prescription? “So, that’s the key—they just need to have a level of confidence that carries from the regular season into the postseason.” Hence the whispered ‘alternative measures’ – the unspoken suggestion of sports therapy, mental conditioning, anything to help Lamar & Co. shed the weight of history.

Because in Baltimore, with Jackson’s $74 M cap hit anchoring a roster built to win now, and stars like Derrick Henry and Mark Andrews hungry for that ring, the mandate is crystal clear: It’s Lombardi or bust. They have the talent. They have the regular-season blueprint.

Now, they must conquer the ghosts whispering doubts when the lights burn brightest. Can Jackson translate his undeniable, MVP-worthy brilliance into February glory? The answer won’t be found on the stat sheet, but deep within the psyche of a team dancing with its own legacy of ‘almost.’ The clock is ticking.