The Lamar Jackson fever is in full force.
Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to a 41-7 win against the Houston Texans on Sunday, throwing for 222 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed for 86 yards, including an electrifying 39-yard scamper that showed up on highlight reels.
Now, Jackson is the front-runner for the NFL MVP at Caesars Sportsbook for the first time this season. He is priced as the +140 ‘chalk’ as of Monday afternoon.
Jackson has completed 185 of 279 passes for 2,258 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s also produced 788 rushing yards and six touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
Seattle QB Russell Wilson was the previous leader in the MVP race at most Las Vegas shops. After Jackson’s performance on Sunday — coupled with Wilson’s bye week — Wilson’s odds have dropped to +200.
Wilson 2,737 passing yards with a stellar 23/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He is also second on the team in rushing with 256 yards and three more scores.
It appears to be a two-man race at this point. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still in the discussion, but his odds have been moved to +900. Rodgers was also on a bye week and has thrown for 2,718 yards, while compiling a 17/2 TD-INT ratio.
Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott are also in the conversation at 10/1. Mahomes was the favorite to win the award going into the season, but an injury set him back in the standings. Prescott threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 35-27 win against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Kirk Cousins (15/1), Deshaun Watson (20/1) and Christian McCaffrey (20/1) need miraculous finishes to the season in order to become viable contenders for the MVP.