Lamar Jackson might have locked up the MVP award in Week 12

The Lamar Jackson MVP candidacy got a heck of a boost on Monday evening. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback put together a near perfect outing in his Monday Night Football debut as the Ravens crushed the Los Angeles Rams by a final score of 45-6.

Jackson completed 15 of 20 passes for 169 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 95 yards and just missed out on a rushing touchdown that would have given him all of the Ravens touchdowns. Not too shabby.

There are still five weeks of regular season football remaining, but we might look back on this game as the night Jackson locked up the MVP award. He’s got a huge game against the San Francisco 49ers next week, so that certainly could influence it, but Jackson put together a signature performance under the lights of prime time, and that’s the kind of thing that gets voters talking.

Jackson entered Week 12 as the MVP favorite, just ahead of Russell Wilson on the DraftKings Sportsbook odds leaderboard. Their odds were +170 and +200, respectively entering Sunday. Following the Seahawks win over the Eagles, Jackson moved to even money (+100) and Jackson improved to +175. DK has not yet reopened their MVP odds, but I would not be surprised if Jackson was officially into minus territory. Maybe not more than -110 or -120, but DK might decide it’s time to make this a little more difficult for bettors.

UPDATE: Jackson is now -230 to win the MVP award, while Wilson is +300. That’s certainly a move!

If it doesn’t move that much yet, a strong performance next Sunday against the 49ers could firmly lock it up. The 49ers defense is just behind the Patriots, and is coming off a dominant performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. If Jackson impresses once more, I can’t imagine anyone — outside of Seahawks fans — making an argument against Jackson’s candidacy.